They run on the North Coast line from Brisbane to Rockhampton (electric) and Cairns (diesel).

With a top service speed of 160 km/h (100 mph) and the ability to tilt five degrees in each direction, the Tilt Train is one of the fastest trains in Australia, having a similar maximum allowed speed in revenue service to the V/Line VLocity and the Transwa Prospector railcar, that both run up to 160 km/h, and New South Wales XPT although the XPT is rarely able to achieve its maximum operating speed due to track condition and curvature.

The train operates on the North Coast line and serves the intermediate towns of Gympie, Maryborough, Bundaberg and Gladstone.

In October 2013, when the first refurbished set returned to traffic, the service was named the Spirit of Queensland.

In 2014, an additional train was delivered to replace The Sunlander between Brisbane and Cairns, meaning the only service on this 1,681 km route since that time has been the Spirit of Queensland.