The Glacier Express climbs almost 5 kilometers during its daily eight hour journey on a route that challenges locomotives to their max, and yet is so beautifully engineered the railway has been declared an UNESCO Heritage Site – one of only three railroads in the world with that honour. Running between Zermatt, at the foot of the famous Matterhorn, and the ski town of St Moritz, the Glacier Express travels across the mighty Swiss Alps as it runs from one side of the country to the other. 250,000 people a year take this train, which has been running this route since 1930, yet parts of the rail line have been in operation for more than 125 years
Mighty Trains follows Japan’s Tokaido Shinkansen – a high speed commuter train that links Tokyo and Osaka in less than 2.5 hours. Known as the “bullet” train to the rest of the world, the Shinkansen operates on its own dedicated railway lines at up to 285km/hour
The Canadian is VIA Rail’s iconic passenger train, which travels between Vancouver’s Central Station and Toronto’s Union Station on a three-day, four-night journey. Mighty Trains takes the 4,466km journey, which traverses much of the country, through the Rocky Mountains, Prairies, boreal forest and lakes of Northern Ontario.
The White Pass Line and the Yukon Highway were originally built to bring prospectors into the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass is, today, a tourist train carrying hundreds of thousands of people each year, most of whom disembark from cruise ships.
When it comes to transporting fresh fish, time and temperature control are of the essence, and there is no train better equipped to handle a speedier and more efficient fish transport than the North Rail Express. The highly-specialized container train travels the 2,000 kilometer single track between Narvik, deep in the Norwegian Arctic Circle and Oslo, Norway’s capital in the south, to deliver its precious cargo of cod, mackerel, herring, monkfish, and salmon to customers in Europe and around the world.
The Ghan takes passengers on a three-day, two-night journey from Adelaide in the south through the “red center” of Australia, to Darwin in the tropical Top-End. It’s a 3,000km, 54-hour journey with stops at some of Australia’s most incredible sights, including Alice Springs and Katherine, where passengers disembark the train and go on tours of the Katherine Gorge to see Australian wildlife.
The Rocky Mountaineer travels across western Canada and over the Rocky Mountains.
Following a $280-million restoration project, passengers can once again experience one of the most spectacular and dangerous rail journeys in the world on Ecuador's Tren Crucero flagship luxury train.
Passengers are treated like royalty on Indian Railways' Maharaja's Express.
On Europe's high-speed rail network, between Barcelona and Madrid, crews work to expand the infrastructure for a new train.
KiwiRail’s scenic journeys through New Zealand may appear serene to passengers, but to the conductors and engineers who keep these tour trains running, it takes hard work and nerves of steel. Embark on two odysseys through the country’s northern and southern islands, past treacherous fault lines, active volcanoes, and dizzying heights. Visit epic landscapes, including “Hobbiton”, home to the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies, as well as the site of the most devastating rail disaster in New Zealand’s history.
Trains in Sweden
Mighty Trains takes viewers on a backpackers dream. Jump aboard the colourful trains of the State Railway of Thailand where we'll travel over historic bridges, snake alongside the ocean and continue past swamps, canyons and mountains. It's an incredible rail journey that burrows through ancient areas, through historic tunnels, and over raging rivers and beautiful but deadly landscapes that make up this incredible railway.
Mighty Trains hops aboard South Africa's most luxurious train for a breathtaking journey from Pretoria to Cape Town across historic routes and past impressive scenery. We travel aboard classic carriages that are pulled by a series of steam, diesel and electric locomotives making Rovos Rail a bucket list trip for passengers from around the world.
Mighty Trains takes you to Switzerland – home of the Bernina Express. It's one of the most beautiful train journeys on earth – especially in the winter. Traveling along the highest railway line in Europe, this passenger train navigates 55 tunnels, nearly 200 viaducts and bridges. The engineering feats along the line are so spectacular it's the first of three railway lines on the planet to make the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Mighty Trains takes viewers to Australia! Hop aboard the Indian Pacific –a bucket list train journey – for an epic adventure across southern Australia. Along the way, passengers will be transported through the harsh Australian desert, the rolling countryside, beneath lush mountain ranges and everything in between over a four day, 4,352 kilometer transcontinental journey.
Mighty Trains rolls through Norway along the Bergen Line – described as one of the most amazing railway journeys in Europe. The Bergensbanen stretches nearly 500km from Oslo to Bergen, passing through an astonishing 182 tunnels, and some of the most scenic vistas in the world. Along the way, we take a side trip on the Flam Railway, which boasts one of the steepest railway climbs on Earth. Once we arrive in Bergen, we travel north for a ride on the famous Nordland Line, which stretches from Trondheim to Bodø - an Arctic railway that is an important part of Norway's infrastructure, transporting passengers and freight across the North.
Mighty Trains goes behind the scenes with NTV's two Italo trains – the AGV and the EVO – as they expand to cover more of the Italian railway network, connecting passengers from Turin to Venice and Naples to Milan on two of the fastest trains in the world.
Grab a seat (and oxygen mask) for a magnificent, dizzying ride up the Andes aboard Peru's legendary Tren Turistico. Reaching heights of over 15,000 feet above sea level, this railway whisks adventurous passengers through bustling Lima, past ancient ruins, and straight towards the clouds. For passengers, it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but for the conductor, crew, and even the train itself, it's a voyage that will push them to the limit as they confront steep inclines, fallen trees, and the crush of a city of 10 million people.
Host Teddy Wilson takes a bucket-list tour across Spain's lush and rugged northern coast aboard the "five-star hotel on wheels" Transcantábrico Clásico. This eight-day, 600-mile trip features jaw-dropping scenery, remarkable excursions, and gourmet meals. But while passengers live in luxury, the drivers and crew must battle extreme weather, challenging terrain, a problematic braking system, and slippery tracks. But no obstacles can keep this team from delivering a first-class experience on one of the most glamorous train rides in the world.
Embark on one of the most expensive and highly sought-after train rides in the world: Seven Stars. A ticket for this luxury sleeper train is so exclusive, passengers have to enter a lottery just to get onto the waitlist, and we will show why as we glide through Kyushu, an island brimming with beaches, hot springs, and active volcanoes. But it's not lava eruptions the train's driver and crew need to worry about this trip; it's an approaching Category 5 super typhoon that has everyone on high alert...and threatening to cut the trip short.
The Belgrade to Bar train takes passengers on a 12-hour Balkan adventure across the majestic Dinaric Alps and through land that was torn by a brutal civil war just decades ago. But through difficult times and terrain, this mighty train has journeyed forth, on its course from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, to Bar, in Montenegro on the Adriatic Sea. Join host Teddy Wilson on this rugged ride as we cross 435 bridges, snake through 254 tunnels, and skim atop an ancient tectonic lake on this one-of-a-kind, 296-mile train voyage.
There's no better way to explore Vietnam than by rail, aboard the Reunification Express. This three-day adventure from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is a stunning ride, rich in spectacular views of rivers, rice paddies, and dragonfruit orchards and steeped in the nation's war-torn past. Join us as we go behind the scenes to meet the crew, some of whom are literally risking their lives to deliver a great experience and keep passengers safe through rough weather, landslides, illegal crossings, and even hidden death traps.
Two years after being closed to passenger traffic because of a massive earthquake, the Coastal Pacific railway is open again, offering spectacular views of the rugged, eastern coast of New Zealand. This 216-mile journey whisks passengers from Christchurch through the Canterbury Plains, over the beaches of Kaikoura, and past the pink salt plains of Lake Grassmere, en route to Picton. This behind-the-scenes journey follows the team that operates the train and the people who are still repairing the route so it remains safe for years to come.
Fast Motion Sequence of the train route.
