Airdate: Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway

Documentary series Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway is coming to Sundays on SBS.

The 10 part series, narrated by Shane Jacobson, has camera crews embedded at Sydney’s Central station, the Rail Operations Centre and on the tracks and platforms of the vast network.

SBS Director of Television and Online Content, Marshall Heald said: “We’re thrilled to bring this observational documentary to our audience, that delivers on drama and fascinating behind-the-scenes insights as it tracks the daily challenges to the operations of Sydney Trains. With exclusive access to every facet of the rail operations, each episode of Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway offers viewers a unique insight into the diverse characters and genuine human stories that make up Central Station. The scale and breadth of the access is brilliant and will certainly take viewers to unexpected places.”

ITV Studios Australia CEO & Managing Director, David Mott said: “With unprecedented access showcasing the intricate world that is the inner workings of Central Station, and the amazing support from Sydney Trains, we are delighted to bring this incredible world to life for, not only SBS viewers, but for all those railway enthusiasts right around the globe. These are truly stories worth telling.”

Sydney Trains Chief Executive, Matt Longland, said: “I’d like to congratulate each and every one of our staff on the premiere of Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway. This is a true look behind the scenes at our operations and shows the extraordinary commitment, skill and good humour our people bring to their work every single day as they keep our customers moving in an environment where anything can happen at any time. They are the true stars of this network. We hope this series provides some entertaining and informative viewing in these challenging times and look forward to welcoming more of our customers back to the network.”

A massive lightning strike takes out a signal box bringing trains to a stand-still, stranding thousands of passengers. A woman faints into the path of an oncoming train. A once in a generation rain event derails a heritage train and much of the rail network. For 11,000 people in NSW, dealing with these problems is all part of the job running one of Australia’s busiest rail networks – Sydney Trains.

Premiering 7:30pm Sunday 12 September, 10-part documentary series, Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway is a rich mix of unscripted high stakes drama, extraordinary engineering marvels, memorable, diverse characters who are passionate about their jobs, quirky moments, and a strong sense of Australian history.

Narrated by Shane Jacobson, this immersive observational series provides Australians with unique access to Central Station with camera crews embedded at the station, the Rail Operations Centre (The ROC) and on the tracks and platforms of the vast network.

Sydney is a magnet for tourism and business, with a resident population of more than five million people. It’s a city that puts its rail system under extreme pressure 24/7. As the city recovers from the COVID lockdowns of 2020, there are incidents every day – crime, extreme weather, accidents, breakdowns, delays and rail upgrades and maintenance under time pressures.

Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway is an ITV Studios Australia production for SBS, and distributed by Fred Media Pty Ltd.

Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway will be subtitled in five different languages including: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese and Korean. All subtitled versions will be available on the day of premiere.

7.30pm Sunday 12 September on SBS.