The company that operates the Ghan railway has hit back at criticism for loading and unloading disabled passengers by forklift.
The Ghan crosses the Australian continent from Adelaide, in the south, travelling through the Simpson Desert and the red centre town of Alice Springs, to Darwin in the north.
Horrified passengers had complained after seeing disabled passengers hoisted in and out of the trains by forklift.
Great Southern Railway's David Campbell told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that assisting disabled passengers on and off the train with a forklift was 100% safe.
"We've been loading passengers using that method at Alice Springs and other locations of our business for 50 years," he said.