About this season
Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figure from the arts or media, would make a journey by train, usually through a country or to a destination to which they had a personal connection. There were four series broadcast on BBC Two between 1980 and 1999, with the shorter series title being used for all but the first. In 2010 a similar series also aired on BBC Two, Great British Railway Journeys.
Episodes (8)
1. Introduction
Aired 23 October 1980 • 60 min
Travel From New York to Los Angeles With Ludovic Kennedy.
2. Coast to Coast
Aired 30 October 1980 • 60 min
Travel From Sydney to Perth With Michael Frayn.
3. The Long Straight
Aired 13 November 1980 • 60 min
Michael Frayn traces the route of Australia's trans-continental railway, the Indian Pacific, with a detour along the way.
4. Deccan
Aired 13 November 1980 • 60 min
Brian Thompson travels through the south of India from Bombay to Cochin.
5. Confessions of a Train Spotter
Aired 4 December 1980 • 60 min
Michael Palin travels from London to Kyle of Lochalsh in the north of Scotland.
6. Zambezi Express
Aired 4 December 1980 • 60 min
Michael Wood travels from Cape Town to the Victoria Falls.
7. Three Miles High
Aired 11 December 1980 • 60 min
Miles Kington travels from Lima in Peru through the Andes and Lake Titicaca to Bolivia.
8. Changing Trains
Aired 18 December 1980 • 60 min
Eric Robson travels from Paris to Budapest via Zurich and Vienna.