{"id":3150,"date":"2026-05-02T01:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/3150\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T01:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T01:40:16","slug":"xpt-retro-revival-as-iconic-train-returns-to-tracks-after-major-refurbishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/3150\/","title":{"rendered":"XPT retro revival as iconic train returns to tracks after major refurbishment"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a quiet weekday in the town of Kendall, a recorded railway announcement cuts through the still morning air, heralding the XPT’s imminent arrival.<\/p>\n

At the New South Wales town’s heritage-listed railway station, eager rail travellers \u2013 and a few trainspotters \u2013 cheer and wave as the iconic train rolls to a stop.<\/p>\n

It is the first run of the XPT (eXpress Passenger Train) service between Sydney and the north coast town of Grafton, after a year off the tracks for major upgrades.<\/p>\n

To mark the relaunch, the first service this week carried the iconic heritage colours that defined the XPT when it first began in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

“We know so many in the community love the XPT and we have a huge rail enthusiast community across the state who love the XPT,” NSW TrainLink chief executive Roger Weeks said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The XPT arriving at Kendall Railway Station with its retro colours. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)<\/p>\n

“So, we put it out in its original, and many would say best livery, and that’s what is lovingly known as the candy stripe.”<\/p>\n

Brian Hudson, 85, a former NSW station master with a 36-year rail career, was among those to greet the train.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Brian Hudson, a former station master, waits to greet the refurbished XPT at Kendall. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)<\/p>\n

Mr Hudson started at the Kendall station in 1957, operating the rail crossing gates before eventually progressing to assistant station master at Kendall, and later, a second-class station master in Sydney.<\/p>\n

“It’s marvellous to see the XPT back … it’s the sort of rail travel I enjoy … the comfort, the relaxation, you don’t have to worry about anything,” he said.<\/p>\n

“When I first started there were only two electric diesel engines operating in Australia, all the others were steam \u2026 the steam trains used to fill up all the time with water.”<\/p>\n

Rail traveller Irene Choo was among those boarding the Sydney-bound XPT at Kendall, delighted to have the service back.<\/p>\n

“It’s so exciting, it’s great,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s so much more convenient and it’s safer for me \u2026 compared to coaches, you can actually get up and walk around and it’s comfortable and they have food on the train.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The refurbished XPT on its journey through the countryside at Kendall, NSW. (Supplied: Matthew Doyle)<\/p>\n

Port Macquarie photographer Matthew Doyle was among those out trainspotting as the XPT passed through Kendall.<\/p>\n

“The new updated livery brings back many memories for people across the state, who grew up travelling on and seeing the XPT trains pass through their towns,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I remember travelling on it to school camp when I was a teenager, looking exactly like this. It’s pretty special.”<\/p>\n

XPT still on track<\/p>\n

The XPT first transported paying customers from Sydney, over the Blue Mountains and to NSW’s central west in 1982.<\/p>\n

The North Coast route between Sydney and Brisbane is the longest XPT service, covering 1,012 kilometres over 15 hours.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An XPT in service in June 1986. (Supplied: Transport for NSW)<\/p>\n

A Transport for NSW project is underway to replace the aging XPT fleet with new Regional Rail bi-mode trains, for people travelling across NSW and between Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.<\/p>\n

They will be the first passenger trains in Australia capable of using both diesel power and overhead power when operating on the electrified train network, to reduce emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A 1980s XPT pamphlet. (Supplied: NSW TrainLink)<\/p>\n

They will be able to reach speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour, similar to the XPT, subject to factors including track infrastructure and network speeds.<\/p>\n

There is no firm start date for their introduction with testing still underway, so the XPT fleet has undergone a $40.3 million life-extension refurbishment.<\/p>\n

“That means this iconic train will continue to be fit for service for many years to come,” Mr Weeks said.<\/p>\n

“Because [the new train] is the first of its type in Australia, the testing we need to do to satisfy the regulator is very extensive.”<\/p>\n

Lure of the railway\"An<\/p>\n

The refurbished XPT makes its way north through Wirragulla in the NSW Hunter region. (Supplied: Lewis Jagger)<\/p>\n

Mr Weeks said train travel remained popular in Australia, especially as people sought cheaper alternatives to road travel amid soaring fuel prices.<\/p>\n

In March there were about 113,500 total journeys on NSW TrainLink’s long-distance train network across regional NSW and interstate, which is about 3.6 per cent more than March 2025.<\/p>\n

“We have seen our numbers grow to beyond what we were carrying before COVID, so after the pandemic we have seen a very strong return to our regional and interstate rail services,” Mr Weeks said.<\/p>\n

“In the current fuel crisis we are seeing across all our public transport modes, a slight increase, as people are making the decision to use public transport.”\"A<\/p>\n

Train driver Stephen Daymond at Sydney’s Central Station, ahead of the first Sydney to Grafton run of the refurbished XPT. (Supplied: Transport for NSW)<\/p>\n

After the initial run on the Grafton route, the retro-painted XPT train will be used across the broader NSW network, as well as services to Brisbane and Melbourne.<\/p>\n

“We are going to send it around the network so that rail enthusiasts, passengers and our regional communities can get to see this amazing train,” Mr Weeks said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a quiet weekday in the town of Kendall, a recorded railway announcement cuts through the still morning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4343,2627,4339,1093,4337,2532,4340,4342,247,4336,4338,4341,224,4335],"class_list":{"0":"post-3150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sydney","8":"tag-candy-cane-train","9":"tag-fuel-prices","10":"tag-grafton-to-sydney","11":"tag-public-transport","12":"tag-railway","13":"tag-regional-communities","14":"tag-regional-rail","15":"tag-retro-livery","16":"tag-sydney","17":"tag-train-services","18":"tag-trainspotters","19":"tag-transport-for-nsw","20":"tag-travel","21":"tag-xpt"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}