Join Tim Fischer this Saturday morning for THE GREAT TRAIN SHOW – a radio program and podcast series tailor-made for train fans.

The program will be a tantalising mix of rail news and engaging stories from and about the world of rail. Well known for his great passion and near-encyclopedic knowledge on the subject, it will draw on Tim Fischer's extensive knowledge of all facets of the industry here in Australia and internationally.

His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia will open the show. Together Major General Jeffery and Tim will explore the way rail has influenced and shaped Australia"s sense of national character and the role rail has played in the Federation of Australia. General Jeffery's love of trains goes back to his early army days when he traveled from Perth to Duntroon and continues to this day, with his visit in 2006 to the Pichi Richi railway in the Australian outback

Fellow train enthusiast David Hill (former Chairman of Railways of Australia, former Chief Executive of NSW Railways and former Managing Director of the ABC) will join Tim to talk about the good and bad of Australian railway infrastructure, the wonderful era of railway balls and their recollections of trains as boys.

Listeners to the program will discover some of the great train journeys of the world, including Kenya's Lunatic Express and a trip across Australia's Nullarbor Plain, stopping off along the way to meet Australians for whom trains provide a livelihood.

The 26th of January is also a key date in the Indian calendar. India marks its Republic Day on our Australia Day. The two countries also share a rich railway heritage. The Great Train show will cross to Darjeeling and speak to Rajesh Agrawal, Head of Heritage Rail in India.

And tune in to hear about Tim's recent discovery of an underground narrow gauge gold mine rail system, just 50 minutes from the Albury Railway station in north-east Victoria. "I am stoked by this find in the Karr's Reef Historic Goldmine", says Tim, "I had no idea this narrow gauge railway, built by Cornish miners, existed. It's a wonderful addition to the great rail heritage of Australia".

THE GREAT TRAIN SHOW will be broadcast live this Saturday 26 January in NSW, ACT, VICTORIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND and TASMANIA at 9am local time and in the NORTHERN TERRITORY and WESTERN AUSTRALIA at 8am local time.

The program will be streamed online via ABC Local Radio station websites nationally.

The special Australia Day broadcast will launch the first of 16 podcasts in THE GREAT TRAIN SHOW series – available only via ABC Local Radio websites and abc.net.au/backyard/greattrainshow.

Subsequent podcasts will be posted weekly on Saturdays until Saturday 10 May 2008.

Tim Fischer is available for interviews. For interview requests or photographs, please contact Sara Harrington on +61 2 8333 5009 or +61 (0) 407 895 192