Opening Australia’s outback

One of the world’s classic train routes, the Ghan in Australia, will more than double in length when an extension from Alice Springs to Darwin opens in February. Tickets are on sale now.

The expanded route will stretch from Adelaide in the south to Darwin in the north, traversing the continent in a two-day, 1,850-mile journey. (The current route takes 20 hours.)

The new section will go through the outback in the vast Northern Territory, an Aborigine stronghold and Australia’s least populated area. The territory’s southern region is part of the Red Center, named for the red sand, soil and rocks of its desert. The territory’s northern tip is known as the Top End, rich in aboriginal rock art and tropical foliage.

The territory’s main cities are Alice Springs, a hub for visits to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia’s iconic dome, and other natural sights; Darwin, the territory’s capital and gateway to Kakadu National Park, Australia’s largest, with waterfalls, rain forests and rock art; and nearby Katherine (also a stop on the rail extension), near Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park, a string of 13 gorges along the Katherine River.

The southern starting point for the existing route, the state capital of Adelaide, is a base for exploring South Australia.

The Ghan is named for the Afghan camel drivers who formed Alice Springs’ lifeline to the rest of the world until the railway arrived in 1929. Its nearly $1-billion extension fulfills a longtime dream for a north-south transcontinental train. Visitors in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne can link up with the Ghan through two other train routes: the Overland and the Indian Pacific. All are operated by Great Southern Railways, a private company that took them over from the government in 1997.

The Ghan will run one round trip a week on its full length, along with extra service between Adelaide and Alice Springs.

One-way adult fares between Adelaide and Darwin are about $298 per person for regular coach (Red Kangaroo) service, $942 for coach with a sleeper cabin and $1,180 for first-class (Gold Kangaroo) service. Besides a sleeper cabin, first class includes meals; coach offers food for purchase.

Regular through service to Darwin is to begin Feb. 8. At the Travel section’s press time Tuesday, a few tickets remained for an inaugural round trip Feb. 1 between Adelaide and Darwin, for which fares are higher -- about $332 to $8,136 per adult each way. 011-61-8-8213-4592, www.trainways.com.au.