0:02:51 > 0:02:53The vintage locos of a dying era
0:02:53 > 0:02:56are gradually being run off the tracks into retirement.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01By 1972, the last of the 18,000 steam locos of British railways
0:03:01 > 0:03:03will have gone to make way for the more efficient,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06but less romantic diesels and overhead electrification.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12And they're coming fast off the production lines.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Last year, 1,000 went into service.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20New trains, new tracks to give a faster, smoother, quieter ride.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Tracks already welded into lengths of up to 300 feet,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26with sleepers and rails joined at the depot.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Long welded track like this is being laid at a rate of 300 miles a year,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32but it'll be a long time before passengers no longer hear
0:03:32 > 0:03:35the monotonous clickety-click of wheels on rails.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45All over the country, steam engines in their hundreds
0:03:45 > 0:03:47line up at breakers' yards.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50All this adds up to big business
0:03:50 > 0:03:52for the scrap department of British Railways,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56which today has an annual turnover of £20 million.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And away to the sidings go the old carriages, whose day is done.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04British Railways is producing one sixth of the country's scrap metal
0:04:04 > 0:04:06by cutting down on excessive rolling stock and track.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12These carriages, which have carried generations of holidaymakers
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and people going to the office, have come to the end of the line.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Anything that can be used again economically is salvaged,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22but there's nothing much that can be done with old woodwork except this.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Above all, oil does away with this.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Many's the housewife living near a loco depot,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46this one's at Chalk Farm, incidentally,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49who has views on the changeover from the smoke age.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Well, it can't come too soon for me.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53We get so much smoke and dirt in this district.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02This boy's finding out that a ride in the cab
0:05:02 > 0:05:06is far more comfortable and cleaner than in a steam locomotive.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08And instead of waiting to get up steam,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10she's off at the touch of a button,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12like the self-starter on the family car.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23British Railways has schools where drivers learn the new techniques.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27What do they think of the change?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30It's just very much cleaner and warmer.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35And the absence of coal dust and grime
0:05:35 > 0:05:38is evident in cleaner hands.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43And it's true to say you can finish the day's work with a white collar.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51It's possible now to ride in trains and keep your clothes clean.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53For the long-suffering passengers
0:05:53 > 0:05:55who make a thousand million train journeys a year,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58the revolution has come none too soon.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02This is the Midland Pullman.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05One of the expresses helping to give the railways their new image.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It's a train with services like those of a top hotel.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Catering to the international businessman,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12as well as the ordinary passenger.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14You can even wine and dine on credit.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17And instead of having to peer out of the windows to know where you are,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20the conductor tells you over the loud speaker.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24On many routes, the new diesels save 10-15 minutes on the hour.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27And more and more passengers are getting used to the idea of comfort
0:06:27 > 0:06:30in air-conditioned carriages with adjustable seats,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32double-glazed windows and even venetian blinds.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46The next generation of locos is in the minds of the backroom boys.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49This is the linear induction motor,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52developed at Manchester University for the Railways Board.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55A simple electric motor that runs on a continuous metal strip
0:06:55 > 0:06:57set between the rails.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59It accelerates to 30mph in 65 feet
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and makes 200mph trains a possibility.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40There are now about 50 of these preservation societies,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42large and small, in Britain.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Several thousand will often turn out to admire the old champions.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52To the real railway lover, the star of stars
0:07:52 > 0:07:54is probably the Flying Scotsman.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Which, apart from its early predecessor, the Rocket,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59is almost certainly the most famous engine
0:07:59 > 0:08:01in the history of British steam trains.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03It takes eight hours to get steam up,
0:08:03 > 0:08:04starting from a box of matches.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Coaling up has to be done from a lorry,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11for nowadays, there are scarcely any coalbunkers
0:08:11 > 0:08:14and practically no water left on the railway network.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16This means that long before the run,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19coaling and watering points have to be arranged along the route.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Then 4472 is off on another run
0:08:22 > 0:08:23packed with 500 enthusiasts
0:08:23 > 0:08:26who've paid up to £5 for the day's round trip.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Railway fans don't only buy records and tapes of their favourite sounds,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38they take recordings and timings themselves
0:08:38 > 0:08:40and build up their own record books.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43It's certainly a great day for us.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I've never been behind a steam engine before.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Well, I suppose I've always been interested in railways,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51right from when I was a little girl.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54I haven't been over this line for some years. I'm getting a bit lost.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59The driver's cabin is certainly swinging at just under 80.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02The Scotsman used to do a ton and could still do it if it had to.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Britain is on the road to a transport revolution.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Compared with the rest of Europe, we're late starters,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31but Britain today has 1,000 miles of motorways
0:09:31 > 0:09:32either built or planned.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Part of a £100 million a year programme
0:09:35 > 0:09:38needed to keep up with a hurrying world.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40For years, Britain has been handicapped by a road system
0:09:40 > 0:09:42geared to a bygone age.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45With traffic jammed at times to a standstill
0:09:45 > 0:09:48on roads that were never made to take so many family cars.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Nearly half of the roads Britain will build over the next five years
0:09:57 > 0:10:01will be bypasses. Roads that take traffic around towns and villages
0:10:01 > 0:10:03instead of through them.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Hundreds of thousands of drivers on the Great North Road
0:10:06 > 0:10:07will give a sigh of relief when they know
0:10:07 > 0:10:11they can avoid passing through the centre of Stevenage.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14This section of the Birmingham Penrith motorway being opened here
0:10:14 > 0:10:18cost £750,000 a mile to build.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21It takes the load from perhaps the worst stretch of trunk road in Britain,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25a road passing for more than half its length through built-up areas.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30The excavations alone are a vast project.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32On one 26-mile stretch of the M6,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35some six-million tons of earth had to be moved
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and another 750,000 tons of filling brought in
0:10:38 > 0:10:39to complete the roadside banking.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The men who travel with the motorways,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47the road builders who must often work miles from anywhere,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49have come, and with their families.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52For these people, home is where the motorways take them,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54in a caravan on the edge of tomorrow.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Don't talk to the road makers of the '60s about Britain being
0:11:00 > 0:11:03a tight little island already built up to its limits.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Often they have to carve a way through rough country,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08taking hills and valleys and rivers in their stride.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12For those artists of transport engineering, the bridge builders,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14it's an age of opportunity.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16To bring variety and interest to the motorway bridges,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19they're encouraged to use imagination and artistry,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21as well as new materials.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24On this length of the M6, 81 bridges. Three miles of them.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Here, the road shoulders have been coloured
0:11:28 > 0:11:30to contrast with the traffic lanes.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38With the increasing speed of traffic on bypasses and similar roads,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40a lot of thought has been put into signposting.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44It must be clear and concise, yet nothing left out.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47At the beginning of a Yorkshire bypass, experimental signs
0:11:47 > 0:11:50indicate the amenities which motorists can find in the town
0:11:50 > 0:11:52that the road will avoid.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55In this way, it's hoped to meet the complaint of many traders
0:11:55 > 0:11:56in bypassed towns and villages
0:11:56 > 0:12:00that the loss of traffic has given them peace, but killed their trade.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11When the motorways are completed,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14every 25 miles of road will have its own service area
0:12:14 > 0:12:18where motorists can pause to refuel their cars and themselves.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20And the refreshment is strictly non-alcoholic.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27This mosaic shows the Medway area and the M2.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Each service area is due to have self-service snack bars,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34lorry drivers' pull-ins and a luxury restaurant.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36And already there's a motorway vogue in leisure pursuits
0:12:36 > 0:12:40among those who like to dine out while watching the cars go by.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43The revolution in transport is coming none too soon
0:12:43 > 0:12:45if Britain is to move with the tide of progress.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Traffic could ruin Bath, but remove all the traffic
0:13:20 > 0:13:22and Bath would be ruined in another way.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Who would want to live in a city where you couldn't use vehicles?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28It's dangerous, the noise is deafening,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30vibration shakes buildings to pieces.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Imagine how much better all this would be without the cars in the way.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41This conflict between traffic and cities is universal.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Look at Norwich, the most important town of East Anglia.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It is planned that one day, the whole shopping centre
0:13:48 > 0:13:50will be freed of traffic that has no business there.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53A start has been made with London Street,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56recently part of a main route across the city.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Oh, it's much more pleasant now than it used to be.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02It gives you much more opportunity to do your shopping in comfort.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04And it has increased business immensely.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- Don't you think so, Brian? - I would say approximately 40%.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Another thing Norwich people were worried about was
0:14:10 > 0:14:12what was going to happen to the traffic
0:14:12 > 0:14:14if we stopped it from coming through London Street?
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Wouldn't it pile up a bigger jam somewhere else?
0:14:17 > 0:14:20It's been siphoned off into the one-way circuit which runs parallel.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Much better for everybody.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26In Bath, some streets have been all pedestrian for 200 years or so.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30So this all shows what nonsense it is to think
0:14:30 > 0:14:32that traffic must be allowed into every street
0:14:32 > 0:14:34or else trade will collapse.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35It simply isn't true.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39By the year 2000,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43national motorways will have taken away part of the through traffic,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45but the city's own traffic would still remain.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49We must be sure they really are going to make our cities
0:14:49 > 0:14:53not just settlements where people merely exist amid a whirl of traffic,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56but places to enjoy and to live in fully.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Right near the city of London at Woolwich, something is being done.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21This eight-storey car park will have space for 256 cars
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and it'll get the full load off the street in 50 minutes.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27This is how it'll work.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30The car is driven onto roller conveyors, a button is pressed
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and the car's whisked off and up to its appointed cubbyhole.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36The owner does nothing else
0:15:36 > 0:15:39until he wants it back and presses the button again.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Each space has a keyhole in the control panel.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45It's as individual as a changing room locker
0:15:45 > 0:15:47and just as simple to operate.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50No risk of getting the wrong vehicle back either.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05But until there are very many more multi-storey parks,
0:16:05 > 0:16:07it looks as if there's only one bit of land
0:16:07 > 0:16:11where you can leave a car unattended without fearing the consequences.
0:16:11 > 0:16:12The last parking space,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14where those products of proud workmanship
0:16:14 > 0:16:17are disposed of in a rather cruder way.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38A motor scooter, for instance, can weave in and out of the traffic.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Some motorists look on them as a bit of a nuisance.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44They often leave the highest-powered car in the jam just standing.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48And parking a scooter is easier than parking a car.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50With these advantages, it's not surprising
0:16:50 > 0:16:52that the scooter population of Britain
0:16:52 > 0:16:57has in 10 years increased from 4,250 to 470,000.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03The motor scooter was invented in Britain just after the First World War.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05But the idea didn't catch on.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08In World War II, a special machine was produced
0:17:08 > 0:17:11to be dropped with paratroops into enemy-occupied territory.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17This miniature, called a Corgi,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21came down by parachute folded up in its own container.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Today's version of the Corgi has no gears and is very simple to drive
0:17:26 > 0:17:28and it doesn't go very fast.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31But it's just the thing to put in the boot of the family car
0:17:31 > 0:17:34if you don't want to drive into a busy shopping centre.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Today, nearly 90,000 new scooters are sold in Britain each year.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43About 40% are owned by women.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49This new light scooter has been designed with women in mind.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52But before it reaches the public, it is man tested.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Here on a tank-testing course, a new scooter is put through its paces.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01If a scooter survives this sort of thing,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04it should stand up to Mum popping round to the shops on it,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06even if she's a heavyweight.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Phew! What a getaway!
0:18:43 > 0:18:48There are nearly 1,000 accidents a day on the roads of Britain.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Research into car and road safety takes a hundred forms.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Simple but ingenious experiments
0:18:54 > 0:18:56can show up the likely variation in road grip
0:18:56 > 0:18:59between two different types of rubber.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Then the full-size tyres go off to the track
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and are tried out in real life.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Crash helmets aren't worn by all motorcyclists by any means,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11but they help to save lives.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Some experts want car drivers to wear them as well.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Cameras and cathode ray tubes are used to help measure the impact
0:19:18 > 0:19:20as a 12lb weight is dropped on the lid.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26This could make the difference between life and death in a road accident.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27And the simple-looking skid lid
0:19:27 > 0:19:30is in fact a major safety factor on the roads today.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Yet it's not compulsory.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37The safety seat is fairly new and catching on.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41It took two years to design and it may be shape of seats to come.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Everything about the seat appears to be simple, but that's deceptive.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46It looks rather like a dentist's chair.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53And even the safety belt, which appears to be simplicity itself,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57was specially designed after much experiment in Manchester University.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Safety belts have reduced front-seat injuries by a half.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Visitors are shown the egg trick.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Strapped in, the egg is safe.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Now off it goes again. This time, it isn't strapped in.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Poor Humpty Dumpty.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Things like these are all being tested in the name of safety.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Anyone who is free from giddy spells
0:20:29 > 0:20:32and excessive short sight can learn to drive.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Or at least have a go.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Some learners don't look as though they'll ever pass the test.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50Of course, it's never the driver's fault when he or she fails the test,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52it's always sheer bad luck
0:20:52 > 0:20:54or the examiner was niggly.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Last year, rather more than half the learners
0:20:56 > 0:20:58got through their driving tests.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Which mean simply that they were considered safe enough to be allowed out solo.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Many drivers learn through a school.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06There are several thousands to choose from.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Though not every school is recognised by such bodies as these.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Remember that woman who failed her test?
0:21:14 > 0:21:17She's decided to learn properly before she goes again.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20And this school won't let her near a real car
0:21:20 > 0:21:23until she's learnt what makes a clutch engage or not.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25On an ingenious mock-up car,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27she demonstrates her own special method of steering.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Then, by learning to follow a moving light, she picks up the right idea.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Now her reactions to all sorts of hazards
0:21:45 > 0:21:49are tested by other gadgets on this versatile training machine.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53By time she gets back on the road, she'll know a lot more than she did.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59At police driving schools like this one at Chelmsford,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02which looks after 20 different forces,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05models are used to demonstrate the possible causes of accidents
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and teach drivers how to avoid them.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09When they learn driving on the road,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11police drivers have to give a running commentary
0:22:11 > 0:22:13on what they're doing and why.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Still following the road ahead at a speed of 30mph.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19There's a pedal cyclist, stationary vehicle, one opposing vehicle.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Still checking the mirrors.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Some of the safest vehicles in the world are London buses.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Handling a monster this size full of passengers
0:22:29 > 0:22:31is quite a different matter.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34But all learner drivers have to go through the ordeal by skid
0:22:34 > 0:22:35before they qualify.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38And here, a veteran shows just what can be done.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44But perhaps the greatest lesson in road safety they are taught is this.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Never go faster than the speed you're safe at.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51And always remember the other fellow may not be sober or even sane.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Today, there are more than 600 business, taxi and private aircraft
0:23:15 > 0:23:17operating in Britain.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Top executives fly to meetings in various parts of the country
0:23:20 > 0:23:23and get business done during the flight, too.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Today, all kinds of people use them to go about their business.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Jockeys, for instance, hire air taxis
0:23:32 > 0:23:35to fly them to racecourses when time is short.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41They can land right on the course and the plane will wait
0:23:41 > 0:23:44until they've finished racing to take them home again.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Only in the past 10 years has the business plane become big business.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51In Britain, about 80 firms own them.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Mostly conventional planes. But a few have helicopters.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58By remote control, Mr Sebastian Ferranti
0:23:58 > 0:24:00brings out his own tiny helicopter
0:24:00 > 0:24:03from the garage at his Cheshire home.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08Flying at 80mph, it does 10 miles to the gallon and costs £11,000.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16When its owner sets off from his home in Knutsford
0:24:16 > 0:24:19to fly to his factory at Wythenshawe 10 miles away,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21he'll arrive in only a few minutes longer
0:24:21 > 0:24:23than it takes him to take off and land.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29If you've a pilot's licence, you can even self-drive hire an aircraft.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31In London, you can arrange for a taxi helicopter
0:24:31 > 0:24:35to be waiting for you at Battersea heliport by the River Thames.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40But most businessmen want to hire the pilot with the aircraft.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Today, it's almost as simple as hailing a taxi in the street
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and may not cost more than three or four times as much.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Here on a Buckinghamshire airfield,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50the pilot plans his route for the journey
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and an hour before takeoff, checks the plane is in good order
0:24:53 > 0:24:54and puts coffee and biscuits aboard.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The aircraft, one of a fleet of six of varying sizes
0:25:01 > 0:25:03which this company operates, is soundproofed
0:25:03 > 0:25:06so that passengers can get on with their work.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09It's almost like being in the office.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12The boss starts to dictate to his secretary.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Later on, there's a break for elevenses.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Just like being in the office.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22In these days, when time has become a very valuable commodity indeed,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24more and more businesspeople
0:25:24 > 0:25:26are using aircraft for all sorts of jobs.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29They can fly to work and they can work as they fly.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47It's a city in itself, covering more than four square miles.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49It's Heathrow.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Better known to millions of air travellers as London airport.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56And in a few years' time, such is the growth of civil aviation,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58it won't be able to cope with the air traffic
0:25:58 > 0:26:00flying in and out of London.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04In a single month, more than a million passengers
0:26:04 > 0:26:06have landed or taken off from here.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And the yearly average is eight million.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10Soon it'll be 10 million.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Announcing the arrival of British Overseas Airways
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Flight 713 from Sydney and Zurich.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27But whatever the destination, every man and his wife are in a hurry.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Behind the scenes, unusual services such as this,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34for families with time on their hands at the airport.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Trained nurses and welfare staff
0:26:40 > 0:26:42look after the children while the mothers rest.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45And the nurseries equipped with toys and playrooms.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53In the airport's kitchens, thousands of meals
0:26:53 > 0:26:55are prepared for eating in the air.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58The weekly order runs to nearly 500lbs fillet steak,
0:26:58 > 0:27:001,000 chickens, 40lbs of caviar
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and a ton of English cheeses.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05And the meals range from open sandwiches
0:27:05 > 0:27:07to full four-course dinners
0:27:07 > 0:27:10that'll be eaten 20,000 feet or so over Europe.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16To take some of the pressure off London airport,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19this airport at Gatwick is being extended.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22It's already handling over a million passengers a year.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25By 1970, it'll be handling 2.5 million.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28And not long after that, five million.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32But in the 1970s, London airport and Gatwick together
0:27:32 > 0:27:34won't be able to cope with all London's air traffic.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38And Stansted airport in Essex is planned as London's third airport.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41At present, it's mainly used for flying training and diversions.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Ladies and gentlemen, we're descending now
0:27:50 > 0:27:54for our landing at London airport Heathrow.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Heathrow is known the world over
0:27:56 > 0:27:59as the pilots' ideal of what an airport should be.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01But it's reaching full capacity.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03And many a takeoff tomorrow
0:28:03 > 0:28:05will have to be from one of London's newer airports.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd