Platinum Club, the newest luxury addition to Australia’s The Ghan and Indian Pacific’s rail fleet, begins official service on the tracks this month. Featuring a deluxe bar, lounge and fully flexible dining area exclusive to Platinum guests, the Platinum Club marks the first major refurbishment for Great Southern Rail trains since 2008. The carriage offers a daytime lounge setting with adaptable dining options and an evening banquet layout suitable for captain’s dinners and larger group gatherings. “We have experienced a 24 per cent increase in demand for Platinum Service travel over the past two years so we are delighted to be able to enhance our premium offerings with this new social and dining space,” Great Southern Rail spokesman Steve Kernaghan said. Woods Bagot designer Jordan Schumacher, who partnered with Great Southern Rail on the refurbishment, said the new Platinum Club offered a sense of sophisticated luxury, seating 30 guests for dining and an additional 20 in the lounge area. The space boasts quartzite tabletops, timber flooring, brass fittings and leather banquette lounge seating in tones of ash, moss and sepia. The first of four Platinum Club carriages has been completed and is now in service, with the remaining carriages rolling out over coming months. Gold Service travellers on board the Indian Pacific and The Ghan will continue to enjoy the dining and social atmosphere of the Queen Adelaide Restaurant and Outback Explorer Lounge carriages.
