Great Railway Journeys
BBC travel documentaries with presenters on personal train journeys.
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. The first series, which used the longer title, was broadcast on BBC2 in 1980. After a 14-year hiatus, a further three series were broadcast between 1994 and 1999, using the shorter series title. The first series featured the first television travelogue by comedian and comic actor Michael Palin ("Confessions of a Trainspotter"), who later presented a number of travel series starting with Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin in 1989.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 50 or 60 min
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Network
- BBC Two
- First aired
- 23 October 1980
- Last aired
- 6 April 1999
- Episodes
- 27
- Related
- Great British Railway Journeys
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The first series was originally titled 'Great Railway Journeys of the World' and broadcast on BBC2 in 1980.
- Michael Palin's first television travelogue, 'Confessions of a Trainspotter', was part of the 1980 series.
- All seven 1980 series programmes were released on VHS in 1986 by Pentrex, a California railroad video company.
Great British Railway Journeys
From January 2010, BBC Two broadcast Great British Railway Journeys, a documentary with a similar idea but a different format. Journeys focus mainly on Great Britain, occasionally venturing into Ireland. Presented by ex-politician Michael Portillo, the first series followed an 1840 Bradshaw's Guide across 20 episodes. By 2025, 16 series and 290 episodes had been made.
Great Continental Railway Journeys
From 2012, BBC Two broadcast Great Continental Railway Journeys, also presented by Michael Portillo. It follows railway journeys in mainland Europe using a 1913 Bradshaw's guide. Similar series followed: Great American Railway Journeys (2016), Great Indian Railway Journeys (2018), and several others in 2019 and 2020.
Media
No complete series of Great Railway Journeys has been released on DVD, but Michael Palin's 1980 and 1994 programmes are available individually and in a box set. All seven 1980 series programmes were released on VHS in 1986 by Pentrex, now out of print. The six 1994 series episodes were also released on VHS, often as a six-pack, and are out of print but commonly found online. In 2020, series 2 became available on BBC iPlayer, followed by most of series 4 in 2024. Books accompanied the first three series: Great Railway Journeys of the World (1981), Great Railway Journeys (1994), and More Great Railway Journeys (1996), all published by BBC Books. A similar book, Great Little Railways, was published in 1984.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of Great Railway Journeys are there?
Great Railway Journeys has 27 episodes.
When did Great Railway Journeys first air?
Great Railway Journeys first aired on 23 October 1980.
When did Great Railway Journeys end?
Great Railway Journeys last aired on 6 April 1999.
More in 1980s British Documentary Television Series
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