Tickets are on sale for the inaugural journeys on the Alice Springs to Darwin extension of the Great Southern Railway’s (GSR) line between Adelaide and Alice. The journey will take 47 hours, and is 2,979km. The date for the first departure is still to be finalised but is expected to be some time in January 2004. The new A$1.3bn, 1,420km extension of the Ghan line is well ahead of schedule, 80% complete and will end Darwin’s isolation from the rest of Australia’s rail network.

The train service between Adelaide in South Australia and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory is known as the “Ghan,” in recognition of the early Afghan cameleers who pioneered the journey into Central Australia. This began in August 1929 and it was always intended to extend the line to Darwin, but it never happened.

On completion the line will make Australia the only country in the world to boast both north/south and east/west transcontinental rail journeys.

The Ghan will operate one weekly return service between Adelaide and Darwin and two weekly return services between Adelaide and Alice Springs.

For more info, see: greatsouthernrail.com.au

Qantas began flying to Rome in 1948 but is suspending services because of SARS and the threat of terrorism.

Low cost UK based carrier bmibaby is to start services from Manchester to both Prague and Barcelona. Fares start from £32.49 one way

US regional carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines, which operates as both United Express and Delta Connection, has bought 150 defibrillators to deal with in-flight emergencies when passengers or crew suffer suspected heart for 148 of its aircraft.

The WHO has lifted travel bans to both Canada and Taiwan due to SARS. The travel ban on Kenya has also been lifted, Mombassa remains restricted to UK carriers until security at the coastal airport is increased but transport officials are optimistic that flights will be resumed at Kenya's busiest airport for tourists.

The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:

The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Can anyone give Sue some itinerary advice about 3 weeks in Australia in July 2004 and also the Bungle Bungles? Please contact her on : sue.learoyd@btinternet.com

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

According to figures from the UK’s Government’s Office for National Statistics, Spain was the most popular destination for residents of the UK in 2002.

British people made 12.6m visits to Spain, up 7% on 2001, compared with the 11.7m (down 2%) people who visited France – in second place. Third most visited country by the British was the Republic of Ireland with 4m UK visitors, followed by the US with 3.7m.

Receiving visitors, the UK received most visitors from the US with 3.7m visits to the UK, followed by France with 3m; Germany, 2.5m; the Republic of Ireland, 2.3m and the Netherlands with 1.4m.

The survey also showed that tourist numbers in the last quarter of 2002 have returned to similar levels in the same period of 2000.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) has named Dubai as the world's favorite airport in a new passenger survey. This is the second year in succession that it has been rated top in overall passenger satisfaction. Singapore's Changi airport was in second place. The world's busiest airports did not rate well with passengers. Atlanta Hartsfield. and Chicago O'Hare in the US; London Heathrow and Haneda in Tokyo all failed to make the leading group. Canada's Vancouver International scored best in North America while Copenhagen was the European leader.

Experts have found 80 hairline cracks in China's Three Gorges Dam, amid reports of poor workmanship on the world's largest water project, expected to take 17 years – completion expected in 2009. An estimated 250,000 workers are involved in the project and the reservoir will cover 632 square kilometres (395 square miles) of land. Government officials estimate that the dam will resettle 1.2 million people. Critics complain about substandard construction work, corruption and negligence in resettlement work. The project is expected to produce up to one-ninth of China's total output of electricity.

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:

1. MSY
2. FCO
3. MEL
4. LXR
5. CMB

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

“Ladies and Gentlemen do you want the good news first or the bad news?

“The good news is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great time. I felt sadly let down by the fact that none of you sent me a card! I drive you to work and home each day and not even a card.”

“The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between Stratford and East Ham, which means that we probably won't reach our destination for a good ninety minutes yet. We may have to stop and return. I won't reverse back up the line – simply get out, walk up the platform and go back to where we started. In the meantime if you get bored you can simply talk to the man in front or beside you or opposite you.”

“Let me start you off: “Hi, my name's Gary how do you do?”

Win a Moon guidebook on Yellowstone and Grand Teton. See www.moon.com for info on Moon guidebooks.

Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research; try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers. One submission, only, please!

The winner of last month's Moon guide is Judith Phillips. Please send us your postal address, Judith!