Great Indian Railway Journeys - Season 1 (2018)

Armed with Bradshaw’s 1913 Handbook of Indian, Foreign and Colonial Travel, Michael Portillo embarks on four spectacular railway journeys through India. Each travelogue explores a different region of the country, showcasing India’s majestic mountains, scorching desert and plains watered by holy rivers. Michael meets maharajas, explores ornate palaces and golden temples and rides some of the world’s most exhilarating trains. We follow Michael as he experiences the thrill of Indian rail travel, visiting locations recommended by his historic guidebook and uncovering stories from India’s past. He discovers the natural wonders, historic buildings, industries, agriculture, and culture experienced by travellers in 1913 and sees how the country has changed during the century since his guidebook was published. Michael explores how British engineers developed Indian railways during the 19th century and discovers what role the network plays in India today. He finds out what was happening in the subcontinent under British imperial rule and charts the movement towards independence for hundreds of millions of Indians, who now live in the largest democracy in the world.