Inland Rail Project terminated

[old man emu]

No mass transport system for the carriage of humans makes a profit. It is freight that makes the profit because the costs of transport can be forwarded onto the end consumer of the freight.

[onetrack]

People pay big money to go for long train rides, and the aura and advertising associated with the "Great Train Journeys of the World" is very prominent. Both the Ghan and the Indian Pacific make money from passenger traffic.

These trips are advertised as "premium" tourism events, and the passengers pay high prices for premium accommodation, premium food and dining experiences, and associated events in towns that the lines pass through.

A company named Journey Beyond runs these train trips and the whole operation is quite highly profitable.

[old man emu]

10 hours ago, onetrack said:

These trips are advertised as "premium" tourism events

And one expects to pay premium prices, the same as one does on an ocean cruise or First Class airline flights. When it comes to mass transport of humans, there is no profit. Such systems must run to schedule. You can't have a commuter train standing on a siding while a profitable freight train goes by. Unless of course you are in the USA where AMTRAC trains give way to freight trains.