The Overland is an interstate passenger train service in Australia, travelling between the state capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide, a distance of 828 km (515 mi).

After departing Ararat the train stops in the Victorian towns of Stawell, Horsham, Dimboola and Nhill before crossing the South Australian border.

As both railways were 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge, a direct through-service was possible - the first such service to connect two Australian state capitals.

These early services were slow; a westbound departure from Spencer Street at 6:30 a.m. would not arrive in Adelaide until 9:30 p.m. the following day, having taken an overnight stop at Dimboola.

[11] A dining car was included between Melbourne and Ararat from 1927,[12] and between Adelaide and Serviceton from 1928,[13] but with the onset of the Depression in 1930 these services were withdrawn until the mid-1930s, and finally ceased after the outbreak of World War II.

[8]: 82  In 1936 the train was renamed The Overland, and the original deep red livery was replaced by green and yellow with black horizontal lining.

[15] For the makeover the SAR semi-streamlined most of its 500 class locomotives by applying a smooth casing over the multiplicity of piping and plumbing and a valance on the side.

In 1946, a new style of sleeping compartment was being tested, and a mock-up of part of a carriage was built for display in Melbourne and Adelaide.

[36] At this time the Melbourne to Adelaide line was converted to standard gauge, and a new route via Maroona and Geelong introduced.

[46] In May 1999, a new timetable was introduced but with previous intermediate stops omitted at Stawell, Murtoa, Nhill, Kaniva, Wolseley, Tintinara, Coonalpyn and Tailem Bend.

[50] In May 2007, Great Southern Rail completed a $4m interior overhaul of the passenger cars (jointly funded by the South Australian and Victorian governments) and introduced a new blue, purple and green livery applied; the service had already been re-timetabled to operate three times weekly in daylight the previous year.

[58] Later in the month, the South Australian Government announced that it would support the service as part of a $1 million deal with the company.

[59] From 2015, ownership of Great Southern Rail passed through a series of private equity funds, first to Allegro Funds in May 2015,[60] then Quadrant Private Equity in October 2016 (at which time it was rebranded to "Journey Beyond"),[61][note 1] Hornblower Group in January 2022,[63] and subsequently Crestview Partners in February 2024.

From July 2016, following the withdrawal of a federal subsidy, all coach-class seating was removed from The Ghan and the Indian Pacific, with these services now focusing on the premium market.

[65] The shorter travel time of The Overland was not conducive to such a conversion, so it was retained, but now conspicuously at variance with Journey Beyond's new tourism focus.

[68][69] The service was again threatened with withdrawal in December 2019 before a last-minute agreement for the Victorian government subsidy to continue until March 2020 was reached.