Australia's Indian Pacific Train Now Stops at Ghost Town

Passengers stepping off the Indian Pacific train in the middle of nowhere now discover something extraordinary: a ghost town lit by electric lamps, complete with a bonfire and live guitar music under the desert sky.

Cook was once a bustling railway settlement on Australia's Nullarbor Plain, essential when trains needed constant maintenance. Today, with automated systems, only a handful of people remain in this self-styled "Queen of the Nullarbor."

But the town has found new life as an atmospheric stop on one of the world's great rail journeys. The Indian Pacific connects Perth to Sydney across 4,352 kilometers of Australian landscape, transforming what was once public transport into a luxury rail cruise where all meals, drinks, and excursions are included.

The journey's new Saturday evening departure schedule means better timing for off-train adventures. Passengers now spend four nights aboard instead of three, with more daylight hours to explore stops along the way.

The experience goes far beyond the rails. In Kalgoorlie, travelers visit the massive Super Pit gold mine while enjoying mini-quiches and chia puddings at the overlook. In South Australia's Barossa Valley, guests sip sparkling wine in historic Seppeltsfield Estate's gardens before tasting local wines paired with roasted beetroot and goat's curd.

Dinner at the winery happens in a rustic shed where the head cooper performs a dramatic "barrel firing" ceremony involving flames. Live music and dancing follow as the sun sets over the vineyards.

The train's dining car serves creative dishes using regional ingredients like Coorong mulloway fish and buffalo massaman curry. The adjacent bar car buzzes with conversation, becoming the social heart of the journey where strangers become friends over shared adventures.

At Broken Hill, passengers explore the Living Desert Sculptures, dramatic artworks carved into red earth hills in the 1990s. The art blends seamlessly with the stark landscape, creating beauty in unexpected places. Afterward, a restaurant showcases native Australian ingredients including kangaroo, emu, lemon myrtle, and pepperberry.

The journey trades desert expanses for fertile valleys, mining outposts for wine country, proving Australia's incredible diversity. Through it all, the long silver train keeps rolling across one of Earth's biggest countries.

The Bright Side

This reimagined schedule shows how traditional travel can evolve without losing its soul. By adjusting departure times and adding that magical Cook stop, the Indian Pacific proves that slowing down creates space for unexpected magic. A ghost town becomes a highlight, meal service becomes an event, and four days on rails becomes a journey people remember for life.

The Indian Pacific demonstrates that the journey itself can be the destination when you create moments worth savoring.