Impossible Railways

For over 150 years, railways have pushed engineering to its limits, in order to open up the world. Trains can now travel further, and climb higher, than ever before. But for train engineers, it's the need for speed that has inspired the greatest innovations of all. Trains can now reach previously inconceivable speeds, and record-breaking railways cross the globe. From mighty powered steam trains, super-sonic rocket sleds and trains that seemingly fly above their guideways; this episode investigates the incredible engineering breakthroughs that have made these trains go faster than ever thought possible.

Since the dawn of the 19th century, rail networks have overcome almost all nature can throw at them. But there's one environment that's their nemesis: water. Some of the world's greatest Railways have challenged engineering's greatest minds in their efforts to conquer our ‘water worlds'. Whether crossing the cyclone-prone Indian Ocean, travelling under the Bosphorus Strait directly through an earthquake zone, or carved through the sea cliffs of Italian Riviera, each railway has solved a seemingly impossible problem: to create some of the most dramatic train journeys in the world.

Mountains are one the greatest challenges a railway can face. Tough climbs, perilous ascents and extreme weather conditions, have all posed seemingly impossible problems. Daring railway engineering has conquered Earth's greatest ranges, to create some of the most innovative railways on the planet. From tunnelling through the mighty Swiss Alps, clearing the snow bound rails in California's Sierra Nevada, to a 19th Century engineering masterpiece, that conquers a near vertical cliff face in Southern Australia, this episode investigates the solutions that have made these remarkable journeys possible.

Railways encounter a multitude of challenges, but among the most demanding of them all comes when faced with crossing the valleys, waterways and canyons that often stand in the way of their progress. This episode of the brilliant documentary series investigates how the most incredible bridges from around the world help to solve a series of spanning problems. From Scotland's iconic Forth Bridge to a vertigo-inducing viaduct in rural New Zealand and an innovative mechanical lift span in Staten Island New York, they each demonstrate an inspired engineering solution that allow trains to overcome any obstacles that might stand in their way.