On board the boom: The Q Train and a region gaining momentum

GEELONG and the Bellarine are entering a new era as tourism destinations and few operators are better placed to see it than The Q Train.

Fresh off a silver medal at the Australian Tourism Awards this month, chief executive Marie-Claire Trotter said the region’s momentum was only building.

“Geelong and the Bellarine are on the precipice of great change in the tourism and hospitality scene,” she said.

 

“We are no longer needing to tell people where we are. People have heard of us – they know of our region, and they know how wonderful we are.”

It’s a shift Trotter and her team are helping drive.

The Q Train, which runs between Drysdale and Queenscliff, has become one of the region’s most recognisable tourism offerings.

Travelling along the heritage Bellarine Railway, it offers a three-hour dining experience through Swan Bay, pairing a moving landscape with a five-course menu built around local produce.

The Q Train regularly books out months in advance and visitors travel from across the country to experience it for themselves.

The restaurant’s profile reached a global audience last year when it was selected as a filming location for MasterChef USA. The episode brought celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay on board.

 

Pulling off a service on a moving train comes with a unique set of challenges.

From fully electric cooking to balancing temperatures in a constantly moving space, even the smallest details taken for granted in a standard commercial kitchen require careful adaptation.

“We’re serving 116 people,” Trotter said. “Lots of restaurants stagger their arrivals, that way you’re not making 100 steaks all at once.”

Those challenges have been met with a series of industry tricks, refined over time through trial and error.

On the restaurant’s new autumn menu, even the soup course has been rethought to suit the unique conditions on board.

“In order to keep it warm, we actually carry it between carriages in thermoses,” Trotter said.

“We pour from the thermos, which adds that little bit of theatre to the experience, but also it ensures that it stays warm.”

For Trotter, the clearest sign of The Q Train’s success comes at the end of each journey, where it is not uncommon to see passengers embracing staff on the platform.

She said that connection was forged through the stories shared on board.

“[Our staff are] authentic,” Trotter said. “They genuinely love telling you about the baby doll sheep at Ponder Estate. They genuinely love telling you about the wine training they did with Steven Paul at Oakdene.

“They’re so proud of the place that we live, so they love sharing it with people.”

That sense of place is embedded deeply in how the business operates. It’s an approach she believes resonates with changing consumer values.

 

“More and more we care where our dollars are going,” Trotter said.

“There’s something beautiful about knowing that the money you spend is helping someone’s daughter do dance classes, as opposed to some rich guy paying an accountant to avoid taxes.

“I think we as a society enjoy that and I think that’s why supporting local only ever benefits you.”

The Q Train’s rise reflects a broader surge in confidence across Geelong and the Bellarine.

Trotter said a wave of new investment and infrastructure was helping reshape how the region was viewed.

“With the convention centre opening, with the amazing Queenscliff Hotel opening, with such fabulous ferry services, with V/Line improving, I’m so excited for where we’re going,” she said.

“It’s so exciting to be part of that growth. I love living here. I’m never leaving. It’s my adopted home and you’re all stuck with me forever.”