Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The French ‘Train à Grande Vitesse’, known as the TGV, regularly reaches speeds exceeding 300 kilometres per hour. In special tests the train has been pushed to 574.8 kilometres per hour making it the fastest on earth. This film explores how the TGV was made possible through a series of four historic engineering breakthroughs. We analyse the inner workings of four iconic trains, including George Stephenson’s record-breaking Rocket and Japan’s revolutionary Bullet Train. Each features a major technological innovation that allowed engineers to build quicker trains. through the development of powerful engines, aerodynamic design, and innovations that keep trains firmly on the tracks. Using computer generated animation we reveal the incredible stories behind these machines and the inventions that have enabled them to get faster and faster. Four ingenious leaps forward that enabled trains to evolve from the world’s first steam passenger train, into the fastest train on the planet.
00:00 – Introduction
04:11 – Power – Stephenson's Rocket
17:36 – Aerodynamics – LNER Mallard
27:08 – Stability – Shinkansen
35:28 – Safety – TGV
Episode from the “Big Bigger Biggest” documentary series exploring the engineering breakthroughs that have enabled us to develop some of the largest structures in existence.
Subscribe to Element 18 – bit.ly/337R2uO
The French ‘Train à Grande Vitesse’, known as the TGV, regularly reaches speeds exceeding 300 kilometres per hour. In special tests the train has been pushed to 574.8 kilometres per hour making it the fastest on earth. This film explores how the TGV was made possible through a series of four historic engineering breakthroughs. We analyse the inner workings of four iconic trains, including George Stephenson’s record-breaking Rocket and Japan’s revolutionary Bullet Train. Each features a major technological innovation that allowed engineers to build quicker trains. through the development of powerful engines, aerodynamic design, and innovations that keep trains firmly on the tracks. Using computer generated animation we reveal the incredible stories behind these machines and the inventions that have enabled them to get faster and faster. Four ingenious leaps forward that enabled trains to evolve from the world’s first steam passenger train, into the fastest train on the planet.
00:00 – Introduction
04:11 – Power – Stephenson's Rocket
17:36 – Aerodynamics – LNER Mallard
27:08 – Stability – Shinkansen
35:28 – Safety – TGV
Episode from the “Big Bigger Biggest” documentary series exploring the engineering breakthroughs that have enabled us to develop some of the largest structures in existence.
Subscribe to Element 18 – bit.ly/337R2uO
