Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society Inc
Our Commitment to Sustainable and Responsible Tourism
At the Pichi Richi Railway, sustainability is not something we bolt on. It is our whole reason for being. For more than fifty years, our volunteers have worked to conserve the only operating section of the original Ghan railway line, restoring century-old locomotives and carriages and keeping a piece of Australia’s history alive as a working museum. Our purpose is to hand this railway on to the next generation in better condition than we found it.
That belief sits comfortably with South Australia’s “True South” vision of tourism as a force for good, where people, place and planet are celebrated, and with the goal of leaving the community and the environment better than we found them.
Caring for our heritage and culture. We preserve the 1870s engineering of the Pichi Richi Pass and restore our locomotives and carriages authentically, reusing genuine heritage materials wherever we can, according to the principles of the Burra Charter. We acknowledge the Nukunu People, the Traditional Custodians of this land, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
Caring for the environment. We are honest about what we are i.e. a heritage steam railway. We are a volunteer organisation working to understand and reduce our footprint, and we already take practical steps. We switch to diesel haulage during the fire-danger season to reduce bushfire risk, harvest rainwater to supply our steam locomotives, manage weeds and vegetation along the corridor, reuse genuine second-hand materials rather than manufacturing new, and are steadily moving our marketing from print to digital and QR codes to cut paper. We have also registered for Tourism Australia Green is our Gold. an industry-wide sustainable tourism initiative launched by Tourism Australia It features the Green and Gold Promise to protect natural wonders and local communities
Caring for our community. The railway is the lifeblood of Quorn. We host the Flinders Ranges Visitor Information Centre at the Quorn Railway Station, contract with local people and trades, and welcome volunteers of every age, many of whom have served for decades and travel from across the country to be here. Through our Newbies program and links to school work experience, we pass our skills to the next generation.
Supporting the local economy. We keep our spending local as far as possible, source catering from Quorn businesses, partner with regional operators, and draw thousands of visitors each year into the wider Flinders Ranges. The income our passengers provide is what funds the conservation of these irreplaceable heritage assets.
Welcoming everyone. Guided by our Disability Action and Inclusion Plan, we are making our trains and stations accessible to more people, including installing wheelchair lifters, providing accessible facilities, and IT enhancements enabling members to volunteer and train from home.
Our commitments. We will keep preserving and operating this national treasure; continuously improve our accessibility upgrades; continue shifting to lower-impact, digital-first operations; and keep telling our story honestly, without overstating our green credentials.
We are proud to play our part in a responsible South Australian visitor economy, one heritage journey at a time.