For one person on a mid-morning flight, the train usually wins on price and we will say so on the phone. The moment you add a second traveller, an early departure or a suitcase each, the arithmetic turns.
| Cheaper for one | Usually |
| Goes to the airport | No |
| Runs before dawn | No |
| Door to door | No |
| Luggage carried | No |
The Southern Highlands and country services run from Goulburn to Central. They do not run to the airport. At Central you change to the Airport Link, which is a separate fare on top of your ticket, and you do that change with whatever luggage you are carrying.
So the trip is: get to the station, train to Central, walk or wheel your bags to the Airport Link platform, second train, then the walk from the station into your terminal. Four stages, two of them with luggage in hand.
There is no service early enough for a morning departure. If your flight leaves at six, or seven, or eight, the train simply is not an option — and morning departures are the majority of what people out here actually book.
For an afternoon or evening flight it works fine, provided the timetable happens to suit you. That is a genuine "if".
One person, one bag, midday flight: the train is cheaper and we would rather tell you that than take a booking you did not need.
Two people: the gap narrows, because our fare covers the vehicle and theirs is two tickets each way plus two Airport Link fares each way. Four people: our four-seat fare is one number between them against eight train tickets and eight Airport Link legs. That is usually not close.
Check the current prices yourself. We deliberately do not quote a dollar figure for the alternatives on this page — they change, and a stale number in our own favour would not be an honest comparison. Our fare is published on the fares page; hold it against whatever the alternative actually costs today.
For one person, usually yes. For two it narrows. For three or four our fare is generally cheaper, because it covers the vehicle rather than each seat.
No. It goes to Central. The airport is a separate service, the Airport Link, with its own fare and a change with your luggage.
No. There is no service early enough. Morning departures are exactly the case the train does not cover.
Longer than the drive once you count getting to the station, the service itself, the change at Central and the walk into the terminal.
Travelling alone, one bag, an afternoon or evening flight, no tight connection, and you do not mind the changes. In that case take it.
Published fixed fare, no deposit, and nothing charged until after drop-off.
Not sure which option suits you? Ask and we will tell you honestly.
Get a Free Quote →These are our own transfers — the van at the Sydney Airport kerb, a full boot of the group’s suitcases, and customers dropped right at their cruise ship. Not stock photos.
