Michael Portillo ventures down under to ride one of the world’s greatest rail journeys aboard the legendary Ghan Railway.

Michael's 1913 Bradshaw’s Guide tells him 'a transcontinental railway is being constructed' and he traces its route from the southern harbour of Port Augusta to the port of Darwin on the north coast. Along the way, Michael uncovers the history of the ambitious project, which stretches nearly 2,000 miles across Australia’s red centre, and learns why it took nearly a century to complete.

Steaming through the Flinders Ranges, Michael travels on the Pichi Richi heritage railway - the only remaining part of the 'Old Ghan' line in operation.

In the outback city of Alice Springs, Michael meets the indigenous Arrente people of the region around their campfire, where he hears dreaming stories and shares their bushtucker. He learns first-hand how their grandparents were mistreated at the time of his guidebook, when state policy required that children be taken from their families to be assimilated into white society. Show less