FremantleMedia International has acquired the global distribution rights (excluding UK) to World War One documentary series Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo (5 x 30’). It is produced by Boundless, part of FremantleMedia UK for BBC Two (UK).

Building on the success of the Great Continental Railway Journeys series, Michael Portillo marks the centenary of the First World War by uncovering the central role the railways played in securing victory, repatriating the dead and wounded and feeding weaponry and supplies to the front line.

This is a story told from a unique perspective, focusing on how a British invention that brought trade, travel and prosperity in peacetime became an engine of war.

In this five part series, Michael takes to historic tracks to rediscover the locomotives and wagons of the war that was supposed to end all war and hear the stories of the gallant men and women who used them in life and in death.

Michael Portillo said: “World War One was a railway war. This series explores how railways precipitated a mechanised war, defined how it was fought and conveyed millions to the trenches. I believe that it makes an important contribution to the BBC’s coverage of WWI by focusing on a neglected subject.”