Clive Lamming

A symbol of luxury and adventure, the Orient Express opened a new path between the West and the East. Mata Hari, Josephine Baker and Agatha Christie, who dedicated a novel to it, contributed to its legend. Delve into the secrets of a legendary train.

Trace the history of Hitler's armored private train, a 15-car mobile headquarters boasting state-of-the-art communications and anti-aircraft cannons.

Nearly 200 years ago, the train revolutionized our lives. It redrew the maps of states and nations, and changed concepts of distance and time like no other invention before. What visionaries imagined the development of the railroad? How did we get from the first chugging locomotives to the smooth giants of speed we see today? How does France's extensive rail network keep running smoothly, 24/7?

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

A voyage of discovery as we follow the most astounding freight trains in the world, carrying extraordinary loads on a daily basis. From the deserts of Mauritania to the the freezing mountains of Canada we reveal the daily lives of the train crews as they battle to bring their loads in on time.