Returning: Railroad Australia

Not on SBS but on Discovery Channel, Railroad Australia returns to screens in mid-September.

This is Part II of Season 2, once again going behind-the-scenes to meet the train drivers, locomotive servicing crews and track maintenance teams.

As Season 2 continues, we head to the outskirts of Melbourne where a new breed of train is being unveiled: the V-locity bullet train which will move 17 million passengers a year around the state of Victoria, connecting its major towns. The series also follows the work of Lara Coughlan and her rapid rail response team in Melbourne, who are in constant demand carrying out running repairs on live train lines to keep Metrorail on time and on track. Meanwhile at the Pichi Richi workshops in South Australia, it’s a huge day for 16-year-old Jayden Chandler, who wants to prove he’s got what it takes to become the fifth generation of his family to drive steam trains.

Australian rail operators are global leaders in moving some of the longest and heaviest freight trains, which are vital to Australia’s biggest industries and the survival of many remote communities. Railroad Australia celebrates these remarkable machines and the men and women who keep our country’s incredibly complex rail network to schedule on some of the most demanding and spectacular journeys on Earth.

Episode 8:
At the Bombardier factory in Dandenong Victoria, another VLocity passenger train is being built for Victoria’s regional public transport system. The trains are needed yesterday and the team is determined to overcome setbacks and get the job done. Meanwhile at a coal mine in NSW, driver Simon Briggs is loading a hi-tech train for a 5,000 tonne haulage mission over the Blue Mountains to port. To stay on time he’ll do battle with steep grades, bad weather and kamikaze kangaroos. At the Pichi Richi workshops in South Australia, it’s a huge day for 16-year-old Jayden Chandler. This is the opportunity he’s been waiting for all his life. He wants to prove he’s got what it takes to become the fifth generation of his family to drive steam trains.

Thursday 14 September at 7.30pm on Discovery.