The two one-hour BBC specials see Portillo explore the likes of the Stockton and Darlington railway in County Durham, which opened in 1825 as the world’s first public railway to carry passengers and freight using steam locomotives.
He also visits the world’s first intercity railway line between Liverpool and Manchester in the North West, which commenced in 1830.
But ahead of Michael Portillo’s 200 Years of the Railways premiering on BBC Two this evening (September 16), I spoke to the broadcaster about why you might want to ditch airlines for railways, how not putting bags on seats could be a “gateway to adventure” and the “most exciting” country he’s ever been to.
📺 BBC2 – Michael Portillo’s 200 Years of the Railways
Michael Portillo BBC2 programme 200 Years of the Railways will be airing on Tuesday 16 September at 8pm featuring the S&DR200 festival opening event All Change at 11Arches, and the Weardale Railway testing of the Locomotion… pic.twitter.com/HiXHIcrGit
— Durham County Council (@DurhamCouncil) September 15, 2025
Michael Portillo says UK’s ‘most beautiful’ train journey is full of ‘natural beauty’
Portillo shared that his favourite train journey in the UK he’s been lucky enough to embark on is the West Highland railway line between Glasgow and Fort William.
Many will recognise this iconic railway line for its starring role in the Harry Potter films for the Hogwarts Express.
He revealed it’s the “most beautiful” train journey because passengers can travel through the Scottish Highlands which are full of “natural beauty” such as going up and down mountains.
For those who don’t often get to travel around by train or prefer to opt for car or plane, Portillo highlighted it’s a “fascinating way” to meet people.
He commented: “You see the landscape so well from the train, and you see things like climate changing at reasonable speed.
“For example, if getting on a train in Paris, whether winter or summer, Paris has a sort of, you know, cold-ish, northern light, [the] sort of light we’re used to in Britain.
“By the time you get down to Marseille three hours later, it’s a Mediterranean light. It’s bright, intense sunshine. The sky is an intense blue. The sea is shimmering, and you’ve watched that gradually change over the three hours that you’ve been on the journey.
“People wonder about trains in a way that they don’t do on planes. So you can go stretch your legs, you can go and get yourself a coffee or a drink, and you can meet people along the way.
“And I think this is the case if you’re travelling abroad, [it’s a] fascinating way to get to know either local people or people who are also travelling as you are, that have come from different countries.
“You can make relationships and friendships on trains much more easily than you can on a plane. A plane is just somehow too quick.”
Why Michael Portillo is ‘against’ bags on train seats – do you think it’s ‘anti-social’?
Yet those who board trains frequently, including when commuting to work, will probably have their own irritating ‘pet peeves’, such as people who choose to listen to music and podcasts without any earphones in sight, or those who leave the remains of their pungent lunch meal deal on tables.
For Portillo, he believes bags plonked on train seats are “very anti-social and unnecessary”.
But why is he so “against” them? He explained: “It’s a way of someone sort of marking out that they [train passengers] don’t want anyone sitting next to them. But first of all, it’s very often necessary that someone should sit next to you, because the trains can be very crowded, and also it’s against the spirit of travelling by train not to sit next to someone.
“You should welcome the opportunity as someone sitting next to you, you should welcome the gateway to adventure.
“Who knows who that person is, and what kind of conversation you might strike, or even a relationship might strike up.”
Portillo has been making his travel shows for nearly two decades, but believes the programmes have “been at their best” when just speaking to “regular” people.
He shared: “We arrive somewhere and we say, ‘What is so special about your town, your beach, your cove, your bay, or Hamilton? What is it?’ And to hear local people talk about the place they live, and the history of the place where they live, is just fantastic.”
Portillo detailed that some years ago, his travel shows “moved away” from using historians and instead focused on speaking to local people as “history just comes alive when you talk to people about the passion for the place where they live”.
Harry Potter Filming Locations
He said: “Their interest isn’t academic, it’s personal and it’s rooted in pride.”
“I’ve really enjoyed travelling with a lot of so-called ‘ordinary’ people to have turned out to be extraordinary,” Portillo added.
‘I think India is an amazing country, full of life and colour and chaos’
Although Portillo has filmed all over the world on his endless popular travel shows throughout the last 17 years, he recalled his favourite destination so far, which was “completely thrilling”.
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He reminisced about how India is the “most exciting and also the most chaotic” place he has been to, as he detailed: “I think India is an amazing country, full of life and colour and chaos.”
“There’s just such a rhythm to life in India, but it’s completely thrilling,” Portillo continued.
Watch Michael Portillo’s 200 Years of the Railways on September 16 at 8pm on BBC Two.
