HOW DOES THE TICKETING & SEATING SYSTEM WORK
Instead of allocating seats alphabetically, those who book their tickets first get the next available seating, much like you would if you were booking tickets at The Arts Centre or The Rod Laver Arena. The tickets indicate the carriage in which you will begin the journey and your subsequent carriage order.
This does not mean you can't choose the carriage you want to be in as your start carriage as long as there are seats available in that section, i.e. you can start in Carriage D and work your way back from there.
It is still essential, as with any event, to purchase all tickets in one transaction under one surname. However, as the individual seats in the carriage are not numbered, you can purchase extra tickets if they are available in your chosen start carriage - as long as you make sure that whoever books the extra tickets books under the orginal surname.
The carriage orders are as follows:
Start Carriage A - B, C end in Carriage D
Start Carriage B - C, D end in Carriage A
Start Carriage C - D, A end in Carriage B
Start Carriage D - A, B end in Carriage C
See a
virtual tour of our carriages
Dinner is served at the beginning of the evening. Patrons are welcome to sit on the platform to eat their meal, or in your first allocated Carriage (this applies to all carriages). If you are commencing your journey in D Carriage, there is amble seating in the alcove on the platform, as well as limited seating in D Carriage.
Please note tickets are General Admission. It is vital to book tickets under one surname in one transaction, otherwise you will be allocated separate carriages. So, remember, if you want to be together, book tickets in one hit!
The Blues Train is a licensed event. You must be 18 or over to ride the Blues Train. It is not suitable for babies or children of any age and people younger than 18 are not covered by our public liability insurance, so sorry, but babies and children will be refused entry.
Patrons of all ages enjoy the Blues Train Having said that, there is no upper age limit for the Blues Train. Seating is available in every carriage for those who like to sit down, even in the dance carriage.
We have made some changes to the way you book your tickets. Instead of allocating seats alphabetically, those who book their tickets first get the best available seating, much like you would if you were booking tickets at The Arts Centre or The Rod Laver Arena . The tickets now indicate the carriage in which you will begin the journey.
Everyone still swaps carriages at the stops. The carriage orders are as follows:
Start Carriage A - B, C end in Carriage D
Start Carriage B - C, D end in Carriage A
Start Carriage C - D, A end in Carriage B
Start Carriage D - A, B end in Carriage C
All of our over-the-counter outlets (including Ticketek) will provide you with a hard ticket upon purchase. People making Internet or phone bookings via Ticketek up to 10 days prior to the show will receive hard tickets via registered mail.
If you book later than this, the name of your group will be called out on the gate. Please have your reference number ready.
If you have a hard ticket, please read it; it will indicate your starting carriage for the event (eg. A means you will start in carriage A, go on to carriage B, then C and then D). Check that everyone else in your group has the same starting carriage on their ticket. Although there is very little we can do on the night to change carriage allocations, if you realise early enough that you have booked in separate carriages, get in touch and we may be able to accomodate you, depending on availability of seats in other carriages.
We introduced a new ticketing system in October 2005, where carriage allocations were given at the time of purchase.
Please read your ticket, as it contains useful information. You may also be required to present a stub from your ticket to receive your dinner.
Refer to our Terms and Conditions page if you need any further information.
Should this ever occur, Ticketek and our local ticket outlets will make every attempt to contact patrons prior to the date. It's important to leave a contact phone number when making your ticket purchase. Ticketek ticketing policy will apply. See Ticketek Terms of Sale.
The best way to sell spare tickets is to call the Queenscliff Visitor centre on 52584843 and M.E. Food Store (our local ticket outlet) 5258 4829 and leave your details as most weeks people are looking for tickets to buy.
They can call you and buy them from you or meet you at the gate on the night.
Also if you have not sold them buy the day of the show call Hugo on 03 5258 4343 after 12 noon on the Saturday and he can try and sell them at the gate as a last resort!
You can also sell tickets to friends or on Ebay as long as it is not at a profit.
Follow this link to read our Terms and Conditions.
For people wishing to ride on the Blues Train who require professional carers, we can offer a discount ticket for one accompanying carer (Companion Card holder). We cannot offer the carer's ticket completely free, as we must cover the cost of the meal and the railway trip, but can offer the entertainment for free. This needs to be arranged directly with us at The Blues Train (i.e. not through Ticketek).
Note: The primary ticket purchaser needs to purchase their ticket at full price. This discounted rate is only for the companion. Both tickets should be booked directly through us and paid for by cheque or money order.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements and we will do our very best to ensure you have an enjoyable Blues Train.
We have wheelchair access on the Blues Train, however due to the age of the heritage train carriages and the width of the doorways and arrangement of fixed seats, mobility can be limited. Please refer to our FAQ specifically about wheelchair access.
View our Safety information and terms and conditions
The Blues Train has a number of Gift Voucher options. See our dedicated
Gift Voucher page:
Delivery information for Ticketek tickets
Delivery Conditions: Ticketek will only mail tickets to the residential address of the credit card holder, and will not send tickets to PO Boxes or business addresses. If you have purchased concession tickets, you are required to present a valid proof of entitlement and photo ID on entry at the venue.
• Registered Mail (Allow 14 working days for delivery)
- Registered Mail provides you with a unique and traceable identifier with Australia Post. Australia Post recommends that you allow 14 working days delivery time for registered mail.
- Lost, stolen, or destroyed tickets will only be replaced according to the promoter of each event's policy. In most cases Ticketek uses registered mail for general admission (GA) tickets which cannot be replaced if not received, lost, stolen or destroyed etc.
- Tickets sent by registered mail incur an additional fee and is not recommended for overseas addresses.
Collect in person
Collection Conditions: As part of the terms of sale, the only person authorised to purchase tickets is the credit card holder. Tickets will not be issued to persons other than the credit card holder. You are required to present your credit card and photo I.D. to collect tickets. If you have purchased concession tickets, you are also required to present a valid concession card.
City Box Office Collection Only
Tickets must be collected the day before the event. You must be the credit card holder to make this booking. You are required to present your credit card and photo I.D. to collect the tickets. Tickets will not be issued to persons other than the credit card holder. Valid concession card must be presented where applicable.
For those of you who have purchased Ticketek tickets online before, you will already be a member of MyTicketek. If you also subscribed to the Ticketek mailing list, you will have seen the MyTicketek newsletters with special offers. MyTicketek is free to join, and you need to be a member to make any online booking.
MyTicketek subscribers receive a weekly newsletter. At the top of the newsletter, there are always four ‘hot buttons’ for different events. Sometimes they will be linked to special offers. The Blues Train regularly offers ‘hot button’ specials.
How to access the special offerS: Subscribe to MyTicketek.
When you get a MyTicketek newsletter with a Blues Train special offer, click on the button in the newsletter, follow the prompts and you will be elligible for the special offer when you book a blues Train ticket. Special offers we have had in the past include discounts on tickets and free wine.