One key genre that continues to bring big crowds to SBS is train travel. The main driver for viewers has been the prolific Michael Portillo-hosted series that started with Great British Railway Journeys and then mushroomed globally as the politician-turned-traveller visited seemingly every continent to explore the rail system. (See list below)
Now SBS has commissioned a new local production to take viewers inside the most crowded and chaotic railway terminal in Australia.
Premiering 7:30pm Sunday 12 September, ITV Studios Australia has made the 10-part documentary series, Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway.
The filmmakers are promising 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.
The series also marks another entry on Shane Jacobson’s busy CV as he will narrate the series.
The observational series aims to provide viewers 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 sprawling network.
As the city recovers from the Covid lockdowns of 2020, there are incidents for the camera crews to document every day – crime, extreme weather, accidents, breakdowns, delays and rail upgrades and maintenance under time pressures.
SBS’s Marshall Heald with Mediaweek’s James Manning researching train travel at Euston station in 2020
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 and 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.”
Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway is an ITV Studios Australia production for SBS, and distributed by Fred Media.
The series 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.
See also: From politics to TV: Michael Portillo’s own great journey
Other SBS hit series featuring train travel include:
Great British Railway Journeys (13 series)
Great Continental Railway Journeys (7 seasons)
Great American Railway Journeys (4 series)
Great Australian Railway Journeys
Great Asian Railway Journeys
Great Indian Railway Journeys
Great Alaskan and Canadian Railway Journeys
The Ghan: Australia’s Greatest Train Journey
The Indian Pacific: Australia’s Longest Train Journey
Luke Nguyen’s Railway Vietnam
World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys
Walking Britain’s Lost Railways
Trains That Changed the World
Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways