Perisher Valley (NSW), Australia - Friday marked the 20th anniversary of Skitube, the Swiss designed, Australian built electric cog railway that connects parking at Buller Flat with Perisher Blue ski resort.

Perisher Blue's unique Skitube access train celebrated its 20th anniversary of operation on Friday. (photo: Perisher Blue)

Skitube was officially opened on August 29th, 1988 by Nick Greiner, then Premier of NSW, and has developed into a vital and unique part of operations at Perisher Blue. Skitube is distinctive, as no other ski resort in Australia has its own railway system.

The train runs for a total distance of 8.5 km from Bullocks Flat through the Ramshead range and into the Kosciuszko National Park before reaching Perisher Valley 10 minutes after departure, and continuing on for another seven minutes to Blue Cow Mountain. Over six kilometers of the train's route is underground, making it one of the longest underground train tunnels in Australia and traveling as deep as 550m below the surface. Day and overnight parking at Bullocks Flat is free, as is travel between Perisher and Blue Cow with any valid mountain pass.

The Bullocks Flat Terminal lies well below the normal snow line, 20km from Jindabyne along the Alpine Way en route to Thredbo. Frequent train services run to Perisher Valley and on to Blue Cow Mountain. A Skitube pass includes the Kosciuszko National Park entry fee and savings can be made by buying a combined Train and Mountain pass.