As the British
I government presses ahqad with its plans for railway privatisation, the last in this series charting the development of the train looks to the future. Filmed in Japan, Los Angeles and Argentina it discovers the fate of railways in three very different societies.
Neglect and corruption followed Peron's decision to nationalise Argentinian railways. Now, in an effort to make what is left work properly, they have been franchised to privateers. In Japan, banned in 1945 from building weapons, they concentrated on manufacturing trains to make their railways the envy of the world. But the government has been forced to question future funding. Now the network is to be privatised.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, train tracks are being laid where 30 years ago they were ripped up. But will the Californian abandon his car?
Producer Timothy Copestake
Series producer Peter Grimsdale