1. The Halt (Полустанок)
Trains travel through the night without stopping. The clatter of the carriages quickly disappears, along with the wail of the locomotive. The people at the station are all asleep. But why are they so exhausted ? And what are they waiting for? Set inside an isolated train depot, The Train Station is one of Sergei Loznitsa's most haunting films. It is also one of his most pointed social critiques. In this film, we are brought to a remote train station deep in the Russian woods. It's nighttime. In the distance, we hear the clatter of locomotives. The station, a small wooden building, sits silently, surrounded only by snow and train tracks.
It has an average vote of 4.9 on TMDB.
2. The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat)
Likely in June 1897, a group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
It has an average vote of 7.108 on TMDB.
3. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt)
A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.
It has an average vote of 7.679 on TMDB.
4. Inlandsbanan: De som tog tåget (Inlandsbanan: De som tog tåget)
A journey along the Inlandsbanan, from Mora to Gällivare, in the last summer of 1991 when the passenger traffic is to be shut down. A decision and its consequences. A film about the view of Norrland in these EC times.
It has an average vote of 10 on TMDB.
5. Dream-Plan-Build Horseshoe Curve
Ride along as Horseshoe Curve takes you on a captivating behind-the-scenes railroad journey in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. Trackside views allow you to see first hand some of railroading's greatest accomplishments in action. This special edition of the Dream Plan Build Video Series covers the many miles of scenery from Altoona to Johnstown, PA, complete with dynamic views that will inspire the modeler in you!
6. The Station (La stazione)
A day in the life of a train station.
It has an average vote of 6.3 on TMDB.
7. A Train Arrives at the Station
“This film was a gift to me. I make no claims for it, nor do I offer any apologies. It comes from work on The Thoughts That Once We Had. There was one shot we had to cut whose loss I particularly regretted. It was a shot of a train pulling into Tokyo Station from Ozu’s The Only Son . So I decided to make a film around this shot, an anthology of train arrivals. It comprises 26 scenes or shots from movies, 1904-2015. It has a simple serial structure: each black & white sequence in the first half rhymes with a color sequence in the second half. Thus the first shot and the final shot show trains arriving at stations in Japan from a low camera height. In the first shot , the train moves toward the right; in the last shot, it moves toward the left. A bullet train has replaced a steam locomotive. So after all these years, I’ve made another structural film, although that was not my original intention.”
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
8. Trains of Thoughts
An audio-visual essay, which reflects upon & compares metro systems around the world. It is an exploration of a world inside the world as well as feelings, fascination, obsession, fear and themes - of survival, control & silence.
9. Tickets s.v.p
An incident from the early days of Québec's quiet revolution, tailor-made for the cartoonist. It is the story of a Montréal commuter train, a unilingual ticket collector and a bilingual passenger. The passenger appears on screen himself to describe his bid to have tickets requested in French as well as in English. What ensued, and how even the railway president became involved, is illustrated with wit and humor.
10. Wish Us Luck (ขอให้เราโชคดี)
A one-month-journey of twin sisters from London back to their home, Bangkok, by train. They traveled via the famous trans-Siberian route through many countries such as Germany, Russia, Mongolia and China, with many stories to tell.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
11. 3rd Ave. El
Impressionistic picture of the Third Avenue Elevated Railway in Manhattan, New York City, before it was demolished. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
12. A&C to S
As the modernisation of London Underground continues, long serving A-Stock and C-Stock trains have been withdrawn from service, and their differing characters will slowly become a memory. London Transport Museum commissioned Geoff Marshall to record the transition between old and new trains.
13. The Great Train Robbery
It was one of the greatest heists in British history. £3 million – worth over £40 million today – stolen from a moving train by a gang of thieves who almost got away with it.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
14. Christmas with the Desert Children
A short documentary about Father Christmas' annual six-day trek through the Australian desert aboard the Tea and Sugar Train.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
15. Trains: Two Centuries of Innovation (Trains : Deux Siècles d'innovation)
Nearly 200 years ago, the train revolutionized our lives. It redrew the maps of states and nations, and changed concepts of distance and time like no other invention before. What visionaries imagined the development of the railroad? How did we get from the first chugging locomotives to the smooth giants of speed we see today? How does France's extensive rail network keep running smoothly, 24/7?
16. Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe (Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe)
(Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe)
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
17. Trains
After shooting more short films and documentaries, Deschanel wrote, directed and shot Trains, a short film that won the Silver Bear at the 1976 Berlin Film Festival. Trains is an exquisitely filmed short format documentary on passenger trains throughout the course of one day.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
18. A Good Day to Die (A Good Day to Die)
Several films have been made about the lives of train hobos, but Aleksi Pohjavirta's A Good Day to Die is probably the first Finnish documentary on the subject. The film follows Billy, who travels in a pump on freight trains. In the way of life, the feeling of freedom and letting yourself be carried away by chance are attractive and they make the train bomb strive for a windy ride again and again.
19. The Canadian Rockies by Rail
The Canadian Rockies by Rail takes viewers on a journey through the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies. The trip on board the Rocky Mountaineer train passes through some of North-America’s most stunning wilderness scenery. The trip includes stops in Vancouver, Kamloops, Banff and Jasper as well as a drive along the Icefields Parkway, often described as one of the most scenic drives in the world.
20. The Friendship Train
This short film details the history of the 'Friendship Train', created, following the end of World War II, to travel across the United States to collect food for war ravaged countries in Europe.
