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Electric rack railway in NSW, Australia

The Skitube Alpine Railway is an Australian standard gauge electric rack railway in the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It provides access to the snowfields at Blue Cow Mountain and the Perisher Valley.

In the 1980s, development of the Thredbo and Perisher Valley skifields was increasing, but the mountain road providing access to them was limited. In 1980 the National Parks & Wildlife Service proposed the establishment of a day visitors resort at Blue Cow Mountain, which would increase the traffic demands. A number of transport modes were examined, including a funicular railway, chairlift, and an aerial gondola, but all were of limited capacity, affected by weather, and would scar the mountainsides. A rack and pinion railway was found to be the best option, running mostly underground. The Perisher Skitube Joint Venture was established, with Transfield and Kumagai Gumi each holding a 49% share. The main proponent of the scheme, Canberra engineer Ken Bilston, held the remaining 2% share and was technical manager for the project. The 3.3 km Bilston Tunnel was constructed using a tunnel boring machine, while the 2.6 kilometre Blue Cow tunnel was constructed using the traditional "drill and blast" method. A consortium of Swiss and Australian companies (SLM, BBC, and Comeng) provided the rolling stock, overhead wiring, sub stations, communications and signalling. The 5.9 kilometre line opened from Bullocks Flat to Perisher on 26 July 1987 with the entire line opened through to Blue Cow on 31 March 1988. In October 2016, Stadler Rail commenced an upgrade of the line. It was to be completed by April 2017.

The Swiss designed railway provides easy access between the Alpine Way at Bullocks Flat and the Perisher Blue ski resort sites of Perisher Valley and Blue Cow Mountain. The Skitube passes through two tunnels and has three stations, two of which are underground. The terminal at Bullocks Flat has parking facilities for 3,500 cars and 250 coaches, as well as passenger, administrative and control facilities. The line begins at an elevation of 1,125 metres and runs above ground for 2.6 kilometres, crossing a three span 150 metre long steel truss bridge. A passing loop is located before entering the tunnel, which climbs on a 12.5% gradient to the Perisher Valley terminal. A provision for a second 300 metre long passing loop has been made inside the tunnel. To Blue Cow the line first drops downgrade, then climbs 1.3 kilometres on a 3% gradient, then climbs at 12.5% to the terminus. second hand rail from the State Rail Authority was used to build the line, and two electrical substations are fed with 33 kV power, and output 1.5 kV DC for the overhead wiring.

To operate the service 11 carriages were built by Comeng, Granville and Fuji Heavy Industries. Each is long and wide, and can carry 225 passengers. This provides for the movement of around 4,500 people per hour. Eleven passenger cars in total were built, 4 motor cars, 4 driving trailers and 3 non driving trailers. The motor cars each have four traction motors, making them perhaps the most powerful rack railcars in the world. The braking system is mixed regenerative and rheostatic. The train is capable of , however this is limited during the downhill journey to
Two four wheel 'S' open wagons were acquired from the State Rail Authority for freight traffic, and have been cut down to flat wagons. A 1958 Tulloch Limited built locomotive was also purchased. The trains of the Skitube operate on the Lamella rack system, which was developed by Von Roll Holding.