1970: Dawn of the SUPER TRAINS | Tuesday Documentary | Retro Transport | BBC Archive

For years the world's railways have steadily declined. Now trains are facing their biggest revolution since the discovery of steam and the age of the Iron Horse.

The prospect - a railway revival in the 1970s that may change our travelling habits, and the way we design our cities. In Japan, there is a 130 mph train, it covers the equivalent distance between London and Edinburgh in just over three hours. British Rail plan to introduce a 150 mph train, the Advanced Passenger Train, soon. It is currently undergoing tests.

Speed pays. In Japan, rail passengers have trebled in five years. When the super-train comes to Britain, cities like London, Manchester and Bristol will suddenly be within commuting distance of each other.

High speed won't pose only technical problems, but psychological ones. In France, train waiters are already attending special 'equilibrium' classes and psychologists say that the new trains will have to adopt airline-type features to reassure passengers.

Beyond the Iron Horse, scientists are working on even faster trains - trains without wheels and even trains that will blast off like rockets.


Clip taken from Tuesday Documentary: Son of Iron Horse, originally broadcast on BBC One, 26 May, 1970.





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