Railways: The Making of a Nation: The New Commuters (BBC 4 Tuesday 23 May 2023)

Railways: The Making of a Nation: The New Commuters airs Tuesday 23 May 2023 on BBC 4.

British rail expansion in the 1800s and 1900s sparked a social revolution that historian Liz McIvor traces to the present day. How we eat, where we live, and what we do for fun and profit as a nation were all influenced by the advent of rapid transportation. The railroads not only sparked new economic activity, but also altered the very character of commerce. They altered our conceptions of time and the way we synchronise our clocks. Despite the fact that our railways mirrored existing class differences, they also brought people together in ways never before seen and contributed to the development of a distinctively modern national identity.

In this segment, we see how the development of railways allowed people to move farther away from their places of employment. Before the advent of steam power, long-distance land travel necessitated the use of a horse. Suburbs serving a new class of worker were made possible by America’s railroads in the 19th and 20th centuries. Surbiton, for example, only appeared on the map as a result of the construction of railways. Liz travels to the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, London and the southeast. The Victorian rail system was never the result of a unified master plan but rather developed gradually over time. Work is ongoing to develop a system that meets the needs of commuters today.

Railways: The Making of a Nation: The New Commuters airs Tuesday 23 May 2023 at 7.00pm on BBC 4

Featured Image Credit: BBC 4