TV List (Documentary Programmes)
The following are our favourite railway documentary programmes shown on TV in the UK. Unlike our ‘Film’ list, these programmes do not exclusively concern UK based railways.
The following table is a summary of each listed Programme. Scroll below the table to find Series and Episode details (note the table is too complex to be read on a smart phone however the detailed information under the table does appear).
PROGRAMME NAME | PRESENTERS | CHANNEL | NO. SERIES/EPISODES | YEARS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Architecture the Railways Built | Tim Dunn | Yesterday | Three Series to date
| From 2020 |
Around the World by Train | Tony Robinson | Channel 5 | Two Series to date | From 2019 |
Britain’s Scenic Railways | George Clarke and Kevin Mcloud | Channel 4 | One Series to date | 2021 |
Coastal Railways | Julie Walters | One Series to date | 2017 | |
Extreme Railways | Chris Tarrant | Yesterday | Six Series | 2012 - 2019 |
First Great Western | Channel 5 | Two Series | 2013/ 2014
| |
Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC 2 | One Series | 2019 |
Great American Railroad Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC 2 | Four Series | 2016- 2020 |
Great Asian Railway Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC 2 | One Series | 2020 |
Great Australian Railway Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC2 | One Series | 2019 |
Great British Railway Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC2 | 13 Series to date | 2010 - 2021 |
Great Canadian Railway Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC2 | One Series | 2019 |
Great Continental Railway Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC2 | Seven Series (37 Episodes) | 2012 - 2020 |
Great Indian Railway Journeys | Michael Portillo | BBC2 | One Series | 2018 |
Great Model Railway Challenge | James Richardson and Tim Shaw | Channel 5 | Two Series to date | From 2018 |
Great Rail Restorations | Peter Snow | Channel 4 | One Series | 2018 |
Great Railway Journeys | Various | BBC | Four Series | 1980/1990/1994/1996/1999 |
Hornby – A Model Railway World | Yesterday | Two Series to date | From 2021 | |
Impossible Railways | Yesterday | Two Series to date | 2018 -2019 | |
Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways | Dan Snow | BBC2 | One Series | 2013 |
Making Tracks | Bob Symes/ Mary-Jean Hasler | BBC | Three Series | 1993-1995 |
On The Rails | Mark Williams | Discovery | One Series | 2002-2004 |
Rail Away | Tom van der Plas/
Bob van der Houven
| Dutch TV | 55 episodes to date | From 1996 |
Railway Walks | Julia Bradbury | BBC2 | One Series | 2008 |
Railways of the Great War | Michael Portillo | BBC2/BBC4
| One Series | 2014 |
Riding Britain's Railways | Dan Cruickshank | Nat Geographic | One Series | 2012 |
Scotland's Scenic Railways | Varies | Channel 4 | One Series | 2019/2020 |
Scotland's Scenic Railways with Julie Walters | Julie Walters | Channel 4 | One Series | 2021 |
Secrets of the London Underground | Tim Dunn / Siddy Holloway | Yesterday | Two Series to Date (3rd due in 2023) | From 2021 |
Secrets of the Railways | Guy Walters, Dominic Selwood, Claire Barratt
| Yesterday, UK TV | One Series | 2019 |
Steam Railways | Varies | BBC iPlayer | Up to 16 episodes available | Varies |
Steam Train Britain | Yesterday | One Series | 2019 | |
The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway | Julian Barratt | BBC2 | Four Series | 2014 - 2019 |
The Golden Age of Steam Railways | Jenny Agutter | BBC4 | One Series | 2012 |
The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track | Kevin Whately | BBC2 | One Series | 2013 |
The Railways That Built Britain | Chris Tarrant | Channel 5 | One Series | 2017 |
The Train Now Departing | BBC2 | One Series | 1988 | |
Train Truckers | Simon Chadwick | Yesterday | Two Series | 2019-2022 |
Trains that Changed the World | Liz McIvor, Christian Wolmar, Joshua Levine, Andy Robertshaw | Yesterday | One Series | 2018 |
Trains with Pete Waterman | Pete Waterman | Two mini-series | 2004/2005 | |
Trainspotting Live on BBC4 | Peter Snow, Dr Hannah Fry Dick Strawbridge | BBC4 | One Series | 2016 |
Walking Britain’s Lost Railways | Rob Bell | Channel 5 | Four Series | 2018-2021 |
World’s Greatest Train Journeys from Above | One Series | 2022 | ||
World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys | Bill Nighy | Channel 5 | Six Series | From 2019 |
Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard | Mark Addy | Channel 5 | Three Series to Date | From 2018 |
(1) The Architecture the Railways Built
Series One (2020)
1. Down Street tube station/Rotterdam Centraal station/Bennerley Viaduct
2. Ffestiniog Railway/Amsterdam Centraal station/The Landmark Hotel, Marylebone
3. King's Cross station/ Clifton Rocks Railway/ Dartmouth station/ Göltzsch Viaduct
4. Ribblehead Viaduct/ Settle–Carlisle line/ Surbiton station/ Hungerburgbahn
5. Metro-land/ Great Malvern station/ Glacier Express
6. St Pancras station/ Midland Grand Hotel/ Castle Howard station/ Stoosbahn
7. Snowdon Mountain Railway/ Hafod Eryri/ Severn Bridge Junction signal box/ Strasbourg-Ville station
8. 55 Broadway/ Helsinki Central station/ Wolferton station/ Barmouth Bridge
9. Stockton and Darlington Railway/ Hitachi Newton Aycliffe/ Chappel Viaduct/ Stockholm metro
10. Swindon railway village/ Jubilee Line Extension/ Milano Centrale station
Series Two (2021)
11. Wemyss Bay station/ Blackfriars station/ São Bento station
12. Royal Albert Bridge/ Saltash station/ Wolverhampton Low and High Level stations/ Gällivare station
13. Connel Bridge/ Windsor & Eton Central and Riverside stations/ Gniezno railway depot
14. Piccadilly line Extension/ Plzeň station/ Causey Arch
15. Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway/ Lynton and Barnstaple Railway/ Catesby Tunnel/ Leipzig station
16. Barrow Hill Roundhouse/ Bath Green Park and Bath Spa stations/ Łódź Fabryczna station
17. Sheffield station/ Bennerley Viaduct/ Lisbon Orient station
18. Bristol Temple Meads station/ Southend Pier Railway/ Haapsalu station
19. Huddersfield station/ Hohenzollern Bridge/ Midland Hotel/ Morecambe Promenade station
20. Wingfield station/ Welland Viaduct/ Malmö Central station and City Tunnel
Series Three (2021)
21. Newcastle Central, High Level Bridge, Ballochmyle and Laigh Milton Viaducts, Oberweißbacher Bergbahn
22. Wharncliffe Viaduct, Three Bridges, Ballater station, Rossio station, Brentford Dock
23. Charing Cross station, Hungerford Bridge, Borås Central station, Ordsall Chord
24. Bramhope Tunnel, Dresden Hauptbahnhof, Fawley Hill
25. Saltburn, Brislington tram depot, Aleksandrów Kujawski station
26. Bishopstone station, Stockholm Central station, Selby Diversion
27. London and Greenwich Railway, Žampach Viaduct, Alnwick station
28. North Staffordshire Railway Company and Stoke station, Byker Viaduct, Elbląg Canal
29. Margate and Ramsgate stations, Dom Luís I Bridge, Mail Rail
30. Birmingham Curzon Street Station, Copenhagen Metro, Bekonscot model village
Series Four (2022/23)
31. Forth Rail Bridge, Euston Arch, Goathland station
32. Castlefield Viaduct, Oxford Road and Manchester Mayfield. NRM & Reading Station
33. Channel Tunnel, Ashford International, NRM, Folkestone Harbour station
34. London Bridge station, NRM, Knaresborough Viaduct and station
35. Coventry station, Scarborough funiculars, Network Rail Archives
36. Goole railway swing bridge, Edinburgh Waverley station
37. Lincoln St. Marks station, Birmingham New St. signal box, Network Rail Archives
38. Starcross engine house, South Devon sea wall, Wingfield station, Meldon Viaduct, Okehampton station
39. Middleton Railway, Neville Hill, Halifax station
40. Hull Paragon station, Network Rail Archives, Leamington Spa station, Hull Victoria Pier station
(2) Around the World by Train
Series One (2019)
1. France, Germany, Hungary, Turkey
2. India & Burma
3. Thailand & Malaysia
4. Australia
5. Japan
6. USA
Series Two (2020)
7. France
8. Argentina and Peru.
9. Mexico, on board El Chepe
10. Canada
11. Vladivostock and Trans-Siberian Express
12. Fjords of Norway.
(3) Britain’s Scenic Railways
One Series
1. Lake Windermere and Fourth Bridge
2. Yorkshire Moors and Royal Albert Bridge
3. West Highland Line
4. Yorkshire Moors and Anglesey
5. Britain’s Scenic Railways at Xmas
(4) Coastal Railways
One Series
1. West Highland Railway
2. The East Coast Line (Newcastle to Edinburgh)
3. The Great Western Road (Devon and Cornwall)
4. Wales to Liverpool (Aberystwyth to Liverpool via Tywyn, Ffestiniog railway and Snowdonia.
(5) Extreme Railways
Series One (2012)
1. Congo's Jungle Railway
2. Australia's Outback Railway
3. India's Monsoon Railway
Series Two (2015)
4. Railroad to Mandalay
5. Crossing the Andes
6. One Way Ticket to Siberia
7. Slow Train to Guantanamo Bay
8. The Great Japanese Train Ride
9. The Railway That Created Canada
Series Three (2016)
10. Ice Train to Nowhere
11. Night Train to Patagonia
12. The Diamond Railway
13. Trans-Caucasus Railway
14. On the Xmas Express
Series Four (2017/18)
15. Destination Timbuktu
16. Crossing the Baltics
17. Return to Yugoslavia
18. Railway to The Holy Land
19. Railways of the Holocaust
Series Five (2019)
20. Conquering the Alps
21. The Train in Spain
22. A Railway Too Far?
23. The Reunification Express
Series Six (2019)
24. Railways of the Western Front
25. Last Train to Transylvania
26. The Eastern Express
27. Crossing the Emerald Isle
28. The Lunatic Express
(6) First Great Western
Two series
Series 1: 8 episodes
Series 2: 4 episodes
(7) Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys
One Series
1. Ninilchik to Spencer Whistlestop
2. Anchorage to Wasilla
3. Talkeetna to Denali
4. Fairbanks to Juneau
5. Skagway to Carcross
(8) Great American Railroad Journeys
Four Series - 55 Episodes
Series One (2016):
New York City to Niagara Falls / Philadelphia to Jamestown
Series Two (2017):
St. Louis, Missouri to the Grand Canyon / The Twin Cities to Memphis
Series Three (2018):
Massachusetts to Toronto/ Reno to San Diego
Series Four (2020):
A re-edited version of Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys and Great Canadian Railway Journeys
(9) Great Asian Railway Journeys
One Series (10 long, 20 short Episodes)
1. Hong Kong
2. Chiang Mai to the River Kwai
3. Bangkok to Hua Hin
4. Ho Chi Minh to Hoi An
5. Hue to Halong Bay
6. Jakarta to Borobudur
7. Yogyakarta to Surabaya
8. Penang to Cameron Highlands
9. Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru
10. Singapore
(10) Great Australian Railway Journeys
One Series
1. Port Augusta to Darwin
2. Sydney to Broken Hill
3. Adelaide to Perth
4. Canberra to Melbourne
5. Kuranda to Townsville
6. Newcastle to Brisbane
(11) Great British Railway Journeys
14 Series to date - 250 Episodes
(12) Great Canadian Railway Journeys
One Series
Eps 1 to 5: Halifax to La Malbaie
Eps 6 to 10: Vancouver to Calgary
Eps 11 to 15: Winnipeg to Jasper
(13) Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Series 1 (2022)
Dunbar to Peterhead
1. Dunbar to Edinburgh
2. Leith to Culross
3. Stirling to East Neuk
4. St Andrews to Stonehaven
5. Forvie to Peterhead
Inverness to Orkney Islands
6. Inverness to Cairngorms
7. Cullen to Cawdor
8. Invergordon to Tain
9. Lairg to Caithness
10. Thurso to Orkney
Tynemouth to Berwick-upon-Tweed
11. Tynemouth to Bardon Mill
12. Newcastle to Lynemouth
13. Morpeth to Amble
14. Alnmouth to Bamburgh
15. Farne Islands to Berwick-upon-Tweed
Fairlie to Isle of Lewis and Harris
16. Fairlie to Port Glasgow
17. Helensburgh to Connel
18. Oban to Staffa
19. Fort William to Glenfinnan
20. Mallaig to Isle of Lewis and Harris
Avonmouth to Fishguard
21. Avonmouth to Six Bells
22. Barry Island to Pyle
23. Port Talbot to Pembrey Burry Port
24. Carmarthen to Pembroke
25. Milford Haven to Fishguard
Series 2 (2023)
Douglas to Maryport
26. Douglas to Port Erin
27. Liverpool to Blackpool
28. Morecambe to Grange-over-Sands
29. Ulverston to Ravenglass
30. St Bees to Maryport
Middlesbrough to Humberston Fitties
31. Middlesbrough to Boulby
32. Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay
33. Scarborough to Bridlington
34. Hornsea to Spurn Point
35. Grimsby to Humberston Fitties
Bellarena to Rosslare
36. Bellarena to Giant's Causeway
37. Ballymena to Carrickfergus
38. Bangor to Belfast
39. Carlingford to Dublin
40. Dun Laoghaire to Rosslare
Weymouth to Seaford
41. Weymouth to Lulworth
42. Kimmeridge to Brownsea Island
43. Southampton to Isle of Wight
44. Lee-on-the-Solent to Bosham
45. Fishbourne to Seaford
(14) Great Continental Railway Journeys
Seven Series (37 Episodes)
Series 1: France, Germany, the Low Countries, Switzerland
Series 2: Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Czech, France
Series 3: Russia, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Israel, France
Series 4: Bulgaria, Turkey, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Germany, and Spain.
Series 5: Romania, Switzerland, Morocco, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands
Series 6: Ukraine
[Remainer of Series 6 repackaged as Great Indian Railway Journeys]
Series 7: Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Sweden
(15) Great Indian Railway Journeys
One Series
1. Amritsar to Shimla
2. Jodhpur to Delhi
3. Mysuru to Chennai
4. Lucknow to Kolkata
(16) The Great Model Railway Challenge
Two Series to date
Series One (2018): 6 Episodes
Series Two [2019]: 8 Episodes
(17) Great Rail Restorations
One Series
1. Brake Composite Carriage 1912 - Llangollen
2. 1864 Carriage- Isle of Wight
3. 1960 Pullman- Birmingham
4. Queen Victoria's Carriage
5. The Time Train
(18) Great Railway Journeys
Series 1: Great Railway Journeys of the World (1980)
1. Coast to Coast (New York to LA) - Ludovic Kennedy
2. The Long Straight (Sydney to Perth) - Michael Frayn
3. Deccan (Bombay to Cochin) - Brian Thompson
4. Confessions of a Trainspotter (London to Kyle of Lochalsh) - Michael Palin
5. Zambezi Express Cape Town to Victoria Falls - Michael Wood
6. Three Miles High (Lima to La Paz) - Miles Kington
7. Changing Trains (Paris to Budapest) - Eric Robson
(19) Hornby - A Model Railway World
Two Series to date
Series 1: 10 Episodes
Series 2: 11 Episodes
(20) Impossible Railways
Two Series to date
Series One (2018)
1. Urban Adventures
2. Into the wild
3. Crossing Chasms
4. Reaching new Heights
5. Waterworld
6. Need for Speed
Series 2 (2019)
1. Extreme Wilderness
2. Building Bridges
3. Into the Blue
4. City Limits
5. Full throttle
6. The Sky’s the Limit
(21) Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways
One Series:
1. Railways From their Beginnings
2. Development into National Network: (The Budget Airlines of the Victorians)
3. Late 19th Century to WW2 (How the Railways Changed War)
(22) Making Tracks
Three Series:
Series One
1. From Great Central Railway
2. From Mid-Hants Railway
3. From Middleton Railway,
4. From North Yorkshire Moors Railway
5. From Bluebell Railway
6. From Kent and East Sussex Railway
Series Two
1. From East Lancashire Railway
2. From Talyllyn Railway
3. From Austria
4. From Severn Valley Railway
5. From Ljubljana, Slovenia
6. From Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
Series Three
1. From Foxfield Railway
2. From Paignton and Dartmouth Railway
3. From St Florian, Austria
4. From West Somerset Railway
5. From Bolzano, Italy
6. From Midland Railway Centre
(23) On The Rails
One Series
1. Cornish Steam Giant
2. Rocket Men
3. Brunel
4. Moving Mountains
5. The Carriage Kings
6. Gorge Stephenson
7. Death on the Tracks
8. Big Country
9. Speed and Power
10. Out of Steam
11. Going Underground
12. Diesel Generation
(24) Rail Away
55 episodes to date
(25) Railways of the Great War
One Series
1. A Railway War Begins
2. Railways and Railwaymen Called to Action
3. Keeping the War Moving
4. On Track to Victory
5. Railways and Remembrance
(26) Railway Walks
One Series
1. The Peak Express (Monsal Trail)
2. Discovery Snowdonia (Mawddach estuary)
3. The Birth of Steam (Cornwall)
4. The Whiskey Train (Speyside Way)
5. Harbouring History (Weymouth/ Portland)
6. Gateway to the Highlands (Callander to Loch Tay)
(27) Riding Britain's Railways
One Series
1. George and Robert Stephenson
2. Tunnel Revolution
3. War Revolution
(28) Scotland's Scenic Railways
One Series
1. Union of South Africa, farewell tour of Scotland after 50 years of service.
2. The Flying Scotsman
3. The Jacobite steam train
4. Old Speyside railway
5. Royal Deeside steam Railway
6. West Highland line and the Forth Bridge
7. Glenfinnan Viaduct, Caledonian Sleeper, Wes
8. Flying Scotsman, West Highland Line, Wemys Bay Station
9 West Highland Line, Forth Bridge, Blair Castle
10. Strathspey Steam Railway, Forth Bridge, Glenfinnan
11. West Highland Line and Edinburgh Waverley Station
12. East Fife Railway, Atholl Highlanders
(29) Scotland's Scenic Railways with Julie Walters
North Berwick, the Jacobite steam train, herring gutting in Mallaig, visit to remote Duirinish in the western Highlands
(30) Secrets of the London Underground
Two Series to date (3rd series due July 2023)
Series 1 (2021)
1. Holborn
2. North End
3. Piccadilly
4. Euston
5. St Mary's
6. Clapham
Series 2 (2022)
1. Charing Cross
2. Waterloo & City
3. King William Street and Knightsbridge
4. Brompton Road and St Pauls
5. London Bridge and Ongar
6. King’s Cross and Marlborough Road
7. Elizabeth Line and Angel
8. Quainton Road and Kingsway
9. Greenwich and Notting Hill
10. Baker Street and Edgware Road
(31) Secrets of the Railways
One Series:
1. The Nazi Gold Highway
2. Mystery of the Mountain
3. The Gold Rush Railway
4. Hitler's Arctic Railway
5. The Liverpool to Manchester Line
6. Rainforest Railway
(32) Steam Railways
A miscellaneous collection of programmes from the BBC archives celebrating steam
Up to 16 Episodes available including:
- Flying Scotsman
- Let’s Imagine
- The World About Us
- The Rainhill Story
- Tuesday Documentary
- In View
- The Past at Work
- The Great Railway Cavalcade (150 at Rainhill)
(33) Steam Train Britain
(Scenes on preserved railways)
One Series:
1. Behind the Scenes
2. Opening New Station
3. At South Devon Railway
4. Trainee Takes Driving Test
5. East Lancashire Railway
6. Welsh Highland Railway/ South Devon
7. East Lancs/ Wales
8. South Devon/East Lancs
9. Ffestiniog/ Welsh Highland/ South Devon
10. Welsh Highland/ East Lancs
(34) The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway
(Story of Crossrail)
Series 1: 3 episodes (2014)
Series 2: 2 episodes (2017)
Series 3: 2 episodes (2019)
Series 4: 2 episodes (2022)
(35) The Big Steam Adventure
One Series:
1. From London to Peterborough
2. From Peterborough to York
3. From York to Whitby
4. From Whitby to the Scottish border
(36) The Golden Age of Steam Railways
One Series:
1. Small is Beautiful
2. Branching Out
(37) The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track
(Behind the scenes of the rail network)
One Series: 6 episodes
(38) The Railways That Built Britain
(Follow on from Extreme Railway Journeys)
One Series
1. Boom, Bust and Blood
2. How the Railways Won the War
3. Steam is Dead, Long Live the railways
(39) The Train Now Departing
One Series
1. The Long Drag (Settle–Carlisle line)
2. The West Highlander
3. The Holiday Line (Waterloo to Exmouth)
4. Steam on the Isle of Man
5. Lines of Industry (industrial railways)
6. The Survivors (preserved railways)
(40) Trains that Changed the World
(Liz McIvor, Christian Wolmar, Joshua Levine, Andy Robertshaw)
One Series
1. First impact
2. Age of Freedom
3. Brave New World
4. Metal Monsters
5. World on Move
6. Supertrains
(41) Trains with Pete Waterman
Two mini -series
Series 1:
Rocket Science/How Trains Won the War/ High Speed Revolution
Series 2:
Privatisation/ Eurostar and Pendolino
(42) Train Truckers
Two Series
Series 1: 6 episodes
Series 2: 6 episodes
(43) Trainspotting Live on BBC4
One series
3 episodes
(44) Walking Britain’s Lost Railways
Series One:
1. Elgin to Portsoy
2. Sheffield Victoria via Woodhead to Manchester Piccadilly
3. Dartmoor
4. Penrith to Cockermouth
5. Somerset and Dorset
6. Ruabon to Barmouth
Series Two:
7. Monsal Trail
8. The Durham Coalfields
9. Bangor – Penryn
10. Royal Deeside
11. M&GN: King's Lynn to Great Yarmouth
12. Waverley Line
Series Three
13. Ilfracombe branch
14. Callander and Oban Railway
15. Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway
16. Great Central Railway, Manchester to London.
Series Four:
17. York to Hull, via Beverley
18. Portreath Tramroad and Redruth and Chasewater Railway
19. Elham Valley Railway, Kent
20. Lost railways of Northern Ireland
(45) World’s Greatest Train Journeys from Above
One Series
1. Glacier Express, Switzerland
2. Winnipeg to Churchill
3. El Chepe, Mexico
4. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
5. The Ghan, Australia
6. Bergen Line, Norway
(46) World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys
Series One: (2019)
1. Canada
2. Spain
3. New Zealand
4. Wales
5. Norway
6. Switzerland
Series Two: (2020)
1. Scotland
2. African Safari
3. Copper Canyon
4. France
5. New Zealand
6. Finland
7. Sri Lanka
Series Three: (2021)
1. Cornwall
2. Scotland
3. Sicily
4. Lakes & Dales
5. Italy
6. Bavaria
Series Four (2021)
2. Taiwan
3. Norway
4. Austria
5. Welsh Boarders
Series Five (2021)
1. Australia India Pacific
2. Alaska
3. -
4. Sweden
5. The Far North Line
6. York to Edinburgh
Series Six (2022)
1. Scotland, Coast to Coast
2. Pacific Surfliner
3. Power through the Peak District
4. From the Quinta de Vargellas, Portugal
5. The Neapolitan Line, Italy
6. Africa
7. Denver
8. France
9. Spain
10. Queensland, Australia
(47) The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard
Three Series to date
Series 1: 6 Episodes
Series 2: 6 Episodes
Series 3: 6 Episodes