The Indian Pacific passes through a remarkable variety of environments, from the relatively lush bush and farmland regions of the east and west coast, to the endless flat plains of the arid interior.

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A beautiful sunset is captured from the Indian Pacific as it passes through Kalgoorlie, WA, in December 2009.

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A historic image shows the Indian Pacific travelling across the seemingly endless expanse of WA’s Nullarbor Plain, as a kangaroo watches on.

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The train sits at the Adelaide Parklands Terminal on December 3, 2009. The Great Southern Railway’s Indian Pacific travels the 4,352km between Sydney and Perth twice a week, via Adelaide.

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Storming weather approaches while the Indian Pacific is stopped in the town of Rawlinna, WA. The transcontinental journey is one of the longest and most fascinating train journeys in the world.

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Kevin, who had been working on the railroads for only three years in December 2008, drives the train from Watson to Cook. The Great Southern Railway’s Indian Pacific covers 4,352km between Sydney and Perth.

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More than 55,000 people a year now experience the journey on the Indian Pacific, which provides a rare window into the endless outback of Australia.

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Passengers on the train stop to look at a sign in Cook, SA, during a stop on the Indian Pacific in December 2008. Cook, once a booming town, had a population of two in 2008.

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People watch on as the Trans-Australian Express makes its inaugural run along the Indian-Pacific Railway on 1 May 1970.

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Covering 4352 km – from Sydney to Perth, via Adelaide – the Indian Pacific is the world’s sixth longest railway journey. It crosses three States and includes the world’s longest stretch of straight railway track across the Nullarbor Plain. The longest railway journey of all is the 9259 km trip from Moscow to Vladivostock in Russia.

Read our story about the Indian Pacific’s 40th birthday