The World's Most Beautiful Railway

Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

Documentary series revealing the inner workings of Britain's railways, introducing the track-workers, train guards, drivers, police officers and management teams determined to keep the country moving.

La passion des trains

Covering thousands of miles, Sir Tony Robinson takes a whirlwind journey around the globe by train.

Series telling the story of the architects, engineers and spin doctors who entered a frantic two year race to make the Royal Opening of St Pancras on time.

Railway adventures across Australia follows the exploits of Scott McGregor on his quest to find the famous, unusual and unique trains and stories at the end of the line.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

This series looks at the iconic trains that have done the most to change history. Each train is an engineering marvel, each one a leap forward in the history of trains and railways. But more than this, these are the trains that made the modern world. These are the trains that unify nations and open up continents, that miraculously shrink distance and create a global economy, changing how we trade, what we buy and make and sell. They change how we live and even how we think, speeding up our lives and expanding our horizons. These are the machines that made us modern. Each episode features one iconic train and describes its impact on railway history and on history in general, combining archive and expert testimony with actuality and hands-on engineering demonstrations.

The invention of trains transformed everything about how humans lived. From the movement of goods and population, the design of cities, to conquest and warfare, there are few aspects of civilization that were left untouched by these machines.

Michael Portillo examines the role of the railways in World War I and travels through Britain and Europe uncovering stories from the Great War.

The railway age in the Austrian Empire began with the construction of the horse-drawn railway from Linz to Budweis. Plans soon followed to connect the imperial capital of Vienna with the iron and coal deposits in northern Moravia and with the port city of Trieste. In 1837 the Kaiser Ferdinands Nordbahn was opened, in 1857 the Semmeringbahn planned by Karl Ritter von Ghega, overcoming one of the most difficult obstacles on the way to the Adriatic. The crossing of the Alps by train, such as over the Arlberg or the Brenner, is still considered a unique engineering masterpiece. The expansion of the railway network brought epochal changes. Goods and people circulated on an unprecedented scale – life accelerated. It had succeeded in connecting the northern crown lands such as Silesia or Bohemia and Moravia with Carinthia, Tyrol or the coastal region.

A major political, historical, human and economic fact of the 20th century, the Gulag, the extremely punitive Soviet concentration camp system, remains largely unknown.

The mere mention of the Orient Express brings to mind evocative images of opulent carriages, stylish passengers and thrilling destinations all wrapped up in the romance of train travel. Jonathan Phang, a self-confessed bon viveur with a passion for gastronomy, feels the allure of old world glamour and sets off on a gourmet journey crossing continents aboard some of the world’s most elegant trains. Along the way he stops off in extraordinary culinary destinations, such as Venice, Paris and Istanbul to explore some modern fine dining. However, it is aboard the fabulous trains that Jonathan truly tests the old adage that sometimes it can be better to travel than to arrive.

Series about striking railways in the world. Each episode travels along a number of special locations, where the train serves as a guide and there is also attention for the landscape and culture.

British comedian and travel enthusiast Griff Rhys Jones hops on some of Australia's most impressive long distance trains, travelling across the expansive outback and along spectacular coastlines.

In this five-part series, comedy legend Sir David Jason hits the West Coast of the USA. He’s on a revealing and entertaining journey of a lifetime by planes, trains and automobiles, discovering the machines that made America and changed the world.

A enjoyable low budget variety program about female railroad enthusiasts ("tetsu ota"). The girls who just love trains, travel around the country by themselves. Real railroad trips where nothing may happen. Watch out for the unique ways that women who love trains can enjoy trains!

Following an elite crew of workers-- brakemen, engineers, construction crews, mechanics and train drivers – Railroad Alaska illustrates the battle against ferocious weather and treacherous terrain to keep the State of Alaska’s critical 500-mile long railroad rolling to deliver life sustaining supplies. From controlled avalanches to prevent catastrophe, to fascinating characters, like Jim James, the one-handed handy man, learn what it takes to keep this train on track.

Des trains pas comme les autres

Climb up on the footplate and join historian and host Dan Cruickshank for a railway adventure like no other as he investigates how trains helped shape modern Britain. This three-part series resurrects an exhilarating age and kicks off by focusing on the railways' role in defeating Hitler, before unearthing the incredible engineering achievements of Isambard Brunel and embarking on a trip on the earliest steam engines.