The Prospector - Australia

The Prospector

When the first Prospector came into service in 1971, television and cinema advertising hailed it as a modern rail link to Western Australia's Goldfields frontier. It was WA's great rail journey - to be taken in relaxed comfort. In many respects, that train represented a greater leap forward for its time than the new Prospector will in ours. Importantly, the Prospector marked the switch from narrow to standard gauge rail in country passenger services - cutting the travel time and increasing ride comfort.

It was Australia's fastest train and the first to offer an "airline style" full-meal service. The 14-hour overnight journey endured by passengers on the old Kalgoorlie Express, a diesel (originally steam) locomotive-hauled train with carriages and sleeping compartments, was cut to less than eight hours.

In terms of the original Prospector one point is very clear. After 32 years transporting about 2.6 million passengers and travelling more than 20 million kilometres on the journey between Perth and Kalgoorlie, the Prospector has earned pride of place in WA rail history.

Transwa patrons can now experience a super-smooth ride on the most sophisticated, passenger-friendly train in Australia – the Prospector.

The new state-of-the-art high speed Prospector, introduced into service on 28 June 2004, can travel at up to 160kmh, enabling it to complete the 653km trip from Perth to Kalgoorlie in just over six and a half hours. This is almost two hours quicker than the current journey, making the rail trip competitive with road for the first time.

Standard features include personal music channels, new release movies, access to power points for laptop computers, phone and facsimile services, buffet and special facilities for people with mobility difficulties.

Save Money with a Transwa SmartCommuter Card

If you’re a regular user of the MerredinLink and the AvonLink, the Transwa SmartCommuter Card is a great way to save on your fare. For an annual fee of just $60, you’ll enjoy a 35% discount off the standard adult fare every time you travel. Plus the good news is, you can use the Transwa SmartCommuter Card for discounts on the Australind and MerredinLink (between East Perth and Northam) services, too.
(Editors Special Note: Not 100% sure this can be used on this train)

The Prospector

• Route: Perth - Merredin - Kalgoorlie and vice versa
• Duration: Approximately 6 hours and 45 minutes
• Distance: 655 kilometres
• Frequency: 18 services per week (Twice in each direction on Monday and Friday)