Toughest Place to be a...

Train Driver (2x3)

Air date: Feb 12, 2012

Train driver Simon Davies usually drives the high speed Pendolino between London and Manchester, but now he faces a very different challenge as he travels to Peru and one of the highest and steepest railway lines on earth. Mining is the life blood of Peru and every day trains carry thousands of tons of metal ores down from huge mines in the high Andes. Coached by some of the toughest train drivers in the world, Simon has just days to learn how to handle a massive train down the spectacular and terrifying slopes, risking derailment and death on train lines at an altitude higher than Mont Blanc. He also discovers a community in crisis, where pollution from mining is poisoning the population.