The World's Most Beautiful Railway

Tough Trains

Trainspotting Live will bring three nights of spotting, joy and excitement to BBC Four as Peter Snow, mathematician Dr Hannah Fry and engineer Dick Strawbridge along with a team of rail train enthusiasts revel in the tantalising intricacies, trade secrets and true pleasures of trainspotting... live!

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.

The year 2004 saw two hundred years of railways in Great Britain and to celebrate this historic landmark year, dedicated train enthusiast Mark Williams traveled the length and breadth of Britain in an exciting new TV series. Travelling the length and breadth of Britain, Mark tracks down the nation's fascinating railway heritage and gets to grips with locos such as the magnificent 160 ton Duchess of Sutherland. From the earliest designs of Richard Trevithick and George and Robert Stephenson to the advent of Class 31s, and from the development of London's Underground to the evolution of railway coaches, he reveals how our railways have changed over 200 years of history.

A journey riding the rails around the world, from the locomotive to rail traffic control to the maintenance depot.

The Flying Scotsman has broken records and starred in movies.

Historian Liz McIvor explores how Britain's expanding rail network was the spark to a social revolution, starting in the 1800s and continuing through to modern times.

Documentary series about the resurgence of steam power on the Welsh railways, including the ambitious Welsh Highland Railway in Snowdonia.

From the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, Dan Snow, Anita Rani and Robert Llewellyn explore the science behind the world's busiest railway. With John Sergeant reporting from across India.

More than 150 of Britain’s railway stations are request stops. You have to put out your arm to get the train to stop at the platform. In this series, Paul Merton will travel around the country by train, only getting off at request stops. He’ll explore the history of the stations, and meet the people who live and work around them to learn more about at these unusual and often-overlooked stations.

Rob Bell explores the lost landscapes and infrastructure of some of Britain's former railway lines. From the 1960's the axe fell on 4,000 miles of Britain's rail network. Now, decades later, Rob Bell is going on journey to uncover those lost railway lines. Every week Rob will explore a different line; experiencing the hidden landscapes, lost infrastructure and forgotten worlds that disappeared when the line closed.

Dan Snow examines the development of the railways from their beginnings as track-ways for coal carts in the early 18th century to the pivotal technology for modern Britain.

Barra Best sets out to uncover and explore some of Northern Ireland's lost railways.

Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways

Restoration experts restore iconic rail carriages back to their former glory

Michael Portillo heads for the Last Frontier of the United States armed with his 1899 Appleton's Guide-Book to Alaska.

Michael Portillo explores Canada, armed with his Appleton's Guidebook.

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.

Sur les rails de France

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.