Speaking exclusively to Karryon after his recent promotion to managing director of rail and touring for Journey Beyond, David Donald says a second Indian Pacific from Melbourne is on the cards.
Donald says Melbourne is the only city they don’t tap into, and they’re now “looking at running a second Indian Pacific train from Melbourne”.
The Indian Pacific currently runs from Sydney to Perth.
Donald has also flagged adding more of its recently launched luxury train suites, the most luxurious suites in Australian train travel.
The luxury suites, Aurora and Australis, were both launched in March on the Indian Pacific and The Ghan.
The Australis Suite is three times the size of a platinum cabin and has a lounge, writing desk, personal bar and custom-made bed in the separate bedroom.
The Aurora Suite (double the size of a platinum cabin) is equally as luxurious, with a slightly smaller lounge area, and both have wardrobes and Jurlique amenities.
Donald says it “would look at doing more suites”, but that will come down to evaluation of how well they sell.
If initial sales are anything to go by, you can guarantee it.
The A$12 million addition (four suites over two carriages) are almost fully booked.
“For the new rail suites, you won’t find a vacant spot until the end of 2027 and platinum carriages are also fully booked.”
He says that demand comes from a “big appetite” for train travel in Australia and it’s centred around the food and experiences.
“Demand is always about food and experience, and that’s something we pride ourselves on.
“For the luxury traveller it’s all about immersive experiences and authenticity, and we believe we do that well… it’s about off-train experiences where you get to come around the corner and have what we call champagne moments.”
The Middle East impact
Donald is not new to working through a crisis. He started his role with Journey Beyond in 2020, and after three months, “it all went pear-shaped”.
“On the Monday we had 550 staff in the business, and by the Friday we had five. As the trains were coming back we had to stand the crews down and no one knew what was happening.
“A couple of years later, we started some trains until we could get to the point where the state borders were open, then we couldn’t gear up fast enough. The appetite for train travel in Australia has been phenomenal – it was that rapid we couldn’t gear up fast enough.”
He says there’s undeniably an impact from the current crisis in the Middle East.
“There’s a huge impact because the trains run on diesel and the generators, and so there is a lot of diesel consumption and the price is going up.
“We’re working with locomotive suppliers and availability of fuel isn’t a problem, but the price you pay to get the fuel is.
“Our guests for next year are already fully booked, and we go into each year with 80 per cent already locked in and so we don’t change that pricing. So it’ll be for the new bookings 12 -18 months ahead where there will be a slight price increase.”
Looking to the future
As to Donald’s plans in his newly expanded role?
“It’s a big job and I’m excited about the future.”
He says his focus, besides the rail expansion, includes evaluating every single experience they hold on the journeys, “we evaluate and change any experience that guests don’t rate well”, as well as continuing to grow touring, which he says is already strong.
“Outback Spirit is outperforming last year. There is a slight softening in business going into New Zealand, but the Australian tours, which are in Mercedes-Benz coaches to very unique places, are in high demand.”
He says he also wants to grow Journey Beyond’s international market.
“With the caveat of what’s happening now globally which is going to restrict growth, the end game is to hit 30 per cent by looking at each product for 2028 and 2029 and analysing how we can produce new product and drive that new demand.”
For more information, visit Journey Beyond.
