Australian Geographic

Transconti­nental grandeur

On board the Indian Pacific.

- PHOTOGRAPH­Y BY ANDREW GREGORY STORY BY PHIL JARRATT

ASTOCKY MAN in an Akubra hat, R.M. Williams striped shirt, blazer and moleskins, that all seem a little too much for this warm Perth morning, Indian Pacific train manager Dean Duka, 49, positively beams as he welcomes guests, relieves them of their luggage and ushers them along the platform towards their carriages. Of course, this is not Dean’s main job – he has 30 staff for the details – but this is his style. He’s a hands-on kind of guy, eager to lead by example. A former boxer, weightlift­er and mountain biker, in 2013 he led Great Southern Rail (GSR) colleagues in a cycling challenge across the Nullarbor Plain, following the train line that is his workplace and passion, raising $30,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Dean has the engaging manner of a man you want to know more about. But there’s no time now. There are schedules to keep, luggage to be loaded and lists to check. He looks at his watch. “Let’s meet at my office on the train at 4pm.”

Musician James Ross has f inished his welcome set and is packing his guitar away as the guests leave the East Perth Terminal and head down the platform. We walk together to the far end of the 750m train, and he explains that he’ll be the resident musician for our four-day journey, a troubadour moving from car to car, breaking up the day when the spinifex view begins to pall.

From the moment we board the Indian Pacific we are in the hands of a small army of people dressed identicall­y to Dean, whose voice periodical­ly rumbles from the speakers. The uniforms are smart, combining the classic bush cool of R.M. Williams with elements of chic workplace fashion.

This, I discover, is the art of award-winning fashion designer Juli Grbac, who had previously made a bold fashion statement with Virgin Australia’s cabin crew.

“You guys look great,” I tell crew members Tom and Taylor, who are showing me how to operate my Gold Service Twin compartmen­t. Settled in, I make my way to the Outback Explorer Lounge in search of coffee and a better view of our departure. I want to get a sense of the train gathering speed as we leave the city behind and head for the heart of the country.

At precisely 10am, Dean’s voice booms out, telling us that the Indian Pacif ic is about to depart. Minutes later, the train shudders and begins to move. We pick up pace a little as our carriage clears the platform, but one or two minutes later there is a screeching and the train comes to rest. For a few minutes nothing happens.

“Why have we stopped here?” asks ‘Little’ John, one of two Johns I have met in the lounge. “Probably waiting on a maintenanc­e crew to clear the line up ahead,” says ‘Big’ John, recently retired from the railways.

Sounds plausible, I think. I read my book and peer out at sun-baked Perth suburbia, bringing up a map on my phone. We are 300m from where we started.

About half an hour after our unschedule­d stop, Dean announces there has been a “minor carriage derailment” and engineers are on their way. We should be underway again in an hour or two. Meanwhile, lunch will be served in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant, and pre-luncheon champagne is available.

It occurs to me that he might have a looming crisis on his hands, given that Indian Pacif ic tickets are not cheap, and that the majority of passengers are ticking off a bucket-list item.

For most, the journey is part of a once-in-a-lifetime transconti­nental adventure that might include a four-wheel-drive outback safari or a sea voyage home, all with departure times to coincide with the Indian Pacif ic’s arrival.

It would transpire later that the derailment occurred under live overhead wires, meaning that cranes couldn’t be used, and heavyweigh­t hydraulic jacks had to be found.

Oblivious to the unfolding drama, we sit, eat, drink, make calls and revise our travel plans as day turns into night.

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 ??  ?? Train manager Dean Duka is at the ready to greet his guests as they arrive to board the Indian Pacific at East Perth Station, for their journey across the continent.
Train manager Dean Duka is at the ready to greet his guests as they arrive to board the Indian Pacific at East Perth Station, for their journey across the continent.

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