Michael Portillo’s 12th series of Great British Railway Journeys returns in spring
Credit: John Hall/BBC
While hundreds of largely empty trains run on Britain’s transport systems during the pandemic, our gorgeous heritage lines are shut by government order. The day they reopen – maybe alongside pubs and restaurants – will be an occasion for national celebration. Those antique railways offer so much that is good. They represent our history. They were restored by determined people offering up chunks of their precious time on earth so we could experience unforgettable moments of nostalgia, beauty and joy.
Dr Beeching may be reviled by rail enthusiasts for closing lines in the 1960s, but he opened up enormous opportunities for railway resurrectionists. The Bluebell Railway claims to have been the first preserved standard-gauge railway, running between Lewes and East Grinstead, along the route of the old London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. For those like me, who yearn to live in Agatha Christie’s world, it offers the Golden Arrow Pullman dining train.