About this season
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.
Episodes (6)
1. Power and Empire: The Great Arteries
Aired 26 November 2018
One of the great advances of the 19th Century, the railways were a tool of empire. How did the Victorians use them to expand their influence?
2. The Great Workhorses: Trains That Move Loads
Aired 3 December 2018
From the Channel Tunnel to carrying iron ore in the Australian Outback, experts discuss the history and the future of freight trains.
3. Express Trains That Link Cities
Aired 10 December 2018
Intended as an efficient, economical way of moving freight, the emergence of express trains revolutionised society with the demand for fast travel.
4. The Commute: Trains That Make Cities
Aired 17 December 2018
The world's 10 busiest metro systems carry more than 22 billion passengers every year. How has the train shaped cities - and changed the world?
5. Trains and War: Weapons and Logistics
Aired 24 December 2018
As weapons and transport, trains transformed the battlefield - from huge railway guns and hospital trains to those taking victims to death camps.
6. The Love of Trains: Power, Prestige and Romance
Aired 31 December 2018
Trains have changed the way people see the world - and each other. What is it that makes them so special?