this is bbc news. the headlight. hamas says it has launched a large missile attack on the city of tel aviv, the first in months. rockets science have sounded there as well as across other cities in central israel. so missiles are said to have been intercepted. united nations says almost 700 people are feared dead following a landslide in papa new guinea. the figure is an estimate based on the number of houses believed to have been buried. at least 12 people are confirmed dead after russian attack on a crowded diy store in ukraine's second city of kharkiv. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky said over 200 people could have been inside the store when was attacked. and bangladesh braces for intense

tropical cyclone, tens of thousands flee coastal villages for concrete storm shelters. the conservatives say they will bring back mandatory national service for 18—year—olds if they win the general election. national service for 18—year—olds if they win the general election. my name is francis bourgeois. i'm a railway enthusiast, and i use my social media to share my passion with the world. train horn blows. what a legend. i have 5.4 million followers in total. it's been a pretty wackyjourney. as the uk prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the world's first passenger railway, i've taken on the challenge to travel from the southern coast of england... did your ears pop? ..to the northern coast of scotland. we just passed the highest point of the uk network. i've decided to only use trains made here. honks whistle.

along the way, i'll cross some stunning landscapes and meet people whose lives have been transformed by the great british railway. i wanted to bring us down this slimyjetty here cos i wanted to show off portsmouth harbour station. as you come in, you feel like you're on land, but actually, it's an old pier. and this used to function as a freight boat pier in the mid—1800s. i'm starting my rail adventure on england's southern coastline, passing through london, the midlands, into the yorkshire dales, then crossing scotland up through the highlands, and hopefully making it to thurso, the most northerly railway station in the uk. sometimes find hermit crabs. there isn't a hermit crab in this one though.

tannoy: please buy a ticket before getting on to a train. | as luck would have it, i happened to be wearing the specific badge to the train we're travelling on. 166210. i actually used to get this train to see my parents when i used to live in portsmouth. so, yeah, i'm really excited. and all the better doing it on br rolling stock, too. essentially, that means trains made in the uk in the era of british rail up to the mid—90s before the network was privatised. tickets, please. hiya. hello. ta. thank you. this country invented the railway, and once, we used to design and build locomotives that were sent across the world, slashing journey times between great cities. but as the uk's manufacturing industries declined, railway companies here found it cheaper to import trains from overseas.

yeah, 70007 and 66528. 007, and then there's 08 shunter, 08785. it was really the freight trains that, um, kind of kick—started my social media. um, during covid, i went out and filmed the freight trains... ..uh, passing my parents�* town in somerset when i was there during covid. ah! he laughs. oh, it gave me a shock. i have 5.4 million followers in total between tiktok and instagram... ..and that's happened in the space of about three years, so it's been a pretty wackyjourney. hellfire! 0h. unfortunately, we hit a snag. our next train from salisbury to london has been cancelled

due to an incident on the line. back on. i was literallyjust there on the other side of the platform, and they said this train is now actually going all the way to waterloo. the line has reopened. until it wasn't. right, well, we need to run over to the reading train then. that service has just been cancelled. so, back and forth, back and forth, but we're heading now to reading, which was the original plan. wasn't the original original plan. welcome aboard our chariot to reading. tannoy: the next| station is bramley. well. . .i caught two freight trains in the space of about 15 minutes at reading.

and also, we've managed to maintain our br rolling stock era only criteria, even though we've had a massive spanner thrown in the works, so, yeah, happy days. well, ifinally made it to london, where i'll be stopping for the night. nice to meet you. yes, see you. and there really is only one obvious choice for a railway enthusiast. st pancras hotel opened in the mid—19th century when rail travel was booming. 0h. oh, my word. ha—ha. 0h! 3745. and to think they were going to knock this

station down in the �*60s. tannoy: this train is l formed of nine coaches. will passengers intending to travel on this service please join the train now as it is ready to leave? very cool. thank you. no worries. thank you. nice to meet you. there you go. got the right badge. so we're jumping on a very special class 91, 91110... ..which is the speed record holder for electric locomotives in the uk. and it's just on the other end down here. so this is the beast up at the front. if we were to hear this depart, there's like a succession of noises. it's almost like it just waking up. so, it starts off with a... imitates low steady hum. ..and then immediately

after it goes, it goes... imitates loud air hiss. and then that is a continual noise of... loud air hiss. ..and then there's a... imitates whooshing. ..noise. and then it uh... train whooshes. like that. so, the plan today is to get to leeds via a little diversion. you'll see why. train horn blows. so, i've been invited to derby litchurch lane. some of the trains i'm travelling on were built here. in fact, it's the only factory left that still makes british trains from scratch.

most are imported to the uk in kit form. kathryn lancaster has graciously offered to show me around. we're the only place that do everything. so yes, we've got the history, and we date back to 1876, and you can see that from the victorian buildings, but we are the only site in the uk that can do everything, right from design through to test and delivery. wow. inside these buildings, it's like a railway kind of womb, isn't it? yes. and you have these train babies being put together. you love this, don't you? yeah. how long have you worked here? i've been here since 1988, so i've done 35 years plus. wow. um, loved every day. never had two days the same. you're getting excited cos this is going past, aren't you? that's one of these. perfect! you've one...? yes. yeah, yeah. yeah. that's so cool, just... that was not set up. no, no.

now, this is something i've not seen before. part of the train assembly line in action. oh, my word. told you. moves quicker than i thought it would. but now, is it a matter of the operator just getting precise inputs? yeah. completely. he's over there, he's got the remote, and he's listening to all four banksmen, who are now lining it up. they'll be on their knees now, getting low, low, low. i suppose what i've just witnessed would be like the equivalent of seeing a cow, for example, without any legs — just something that... i like it, yeah. ..you know, just something you're totally not familiar with, and then putting it on its legs and then you're like, "ok, that's definitely a cow now." i work on the underframe of the carriages and ijust love putting things together. have you seen any you've put

together out on the mainline? er, no, i haven't personally. maybe that day will come and you'll say, "that's mine! that's one i did!" absolutely. are you ready for this? that is the traverser. oh, my word. that's a serious bit of kit. and you can go in the cab. cani? yeah. oh! rich, can i bring francis up? yeah. 0k, i'mjust going to get my gopro. ok. gopro. thanks, kathryn. hello. good afternoon. whistle blows. so, the guys have just gave me the one whistle to go. i then start giving it a bit more speed. oh, my word. a bit more speed, a bit more speed, de—clutch, and then all i'm going to do is keep putting my foot steadily on the brake... yeah. ..and when it gets to the end, just bring it to a nice and steady stop.

wow. that was very dramatic. when you've been doing it for 30—odd years, it comes pretty natural. he blows whistle twice. that's my two whistles to go... ..so i now start going forward. you like your diesels, then? i love my diesels. i've been trainspotting ever since i was a little kid. 0h, fantastic. well, they say, once you're bitten by the railway bug, it never goes away. no, it never goes away. it never goes away. well, i could have stayed here all week, but i have a train to catch. this is a class 158, and it was actually made in the factory where we were yesterday.

so, it's day three of our railway adventure across the uk, and we'll be taking this train today to ribblehead on the settle and carlisle line, which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful trainjourneys in the uk. francis... hiya. i know that face. nice to meet you. i've seen your video many times. larryjones is an on—train tour guide covering the settle to carlisle heritage line in north yorkshire. he is part of a volunteer group that offer free walks, trails and tours, mainly around the ribblehead area, which is our next stop. thank you. careful, francis, don't get excited!

you're not going to run after it, are you? and this is why a lot of people stop here. a 15—minute walk from the station, and you'll be under this impressive victorian structure. the ribblehead viaduct. it's just staggering, isn't it? oh, it's just amazing. you can only really make out how big it is by comparing it to the vans next to it. exactly. 104 foot, 24 arches... ..quarter of a mile long. during the 1980s, british rail threatened to close the settle to carlisle line, mainly because the viaduct was crumbling and the cost to repair it was high for a line with dwindling passenger numbers. a six—year—long campaign to save the railway eventually caused parliament to intervene and banned it from closure.

nice one. thanks. nice to meet you. nice to meet you, too. see you. take care. and now, it's the local community that volunteer to maintain the stations along the line as well as to encourage tourists to come. how does it feel to be able to help to preserve this part of british rail history? for me, it's amazing that this line is just still running today, and there's ten stations that all look the same. they're all what they call midland or derby gothic red. so, they're all kept the same. we put the planters out with flowers in, uh, keep them all looking, you know, nostalgic, like they did in the victorian era. and as an enthusiast, seeing how all of this has been preserved... yeah. ..you know, it makes me feel a bit emotional, really. and you can actually stay here, can't you? yeah, you can at many of the stations. these were all station master's houses at each of the stations, and now they're all staycation properties that people can ring up and stay at, so... 0h, brilliant. tannoy: the next train i to arrive at platform two... well, it's time to finally travel over

that beautiful viaduct. tannoy: this train is i formed of eight coaches. it's day four of our railway adventure, and we're up in scotland, specifically glasgow queen street. and behind me, there's a sound that i'm very familiar with. it's a class 43 hst. can i get a picture with you? yeah, yeah. i love meeting people who have watched my videos cos it gives me an opportunity to say thanks. yeah, the initial kind of, like, sort of slight anxiety around it isn't really so much any more. thanks, man. nice to meet you. nice to meet you, man. i love making people happy, so to see someone, uh, to see someone happy in person is nice. i looked over, and i was like... sadly, these intercity high—speed trains are being pulled off the tracks within the next few years, so i plan to make

the most out of today. and on board, there's a chance to catch up with a fellow train enthusiast. hi, jude, arthur. hello, francis. 0h, hello, francis. how's it going? all right. enjoying the hsts? yeah. i first met arthur last year whilst trainspotting near brighton. i think we're going to get off at, uh, kingussie. ok. um... jude often runs her business from the train, which, to be honest, sounds pretty perfect to me. did your ears pop? yeah. we just passed the sign for the summit of the drumochter pass, and it's the highest point of the uk network at 1,484ft.

tannoy: please mind the gap when leaving the train. - down to the door. yeah. it's all right. here, my daughter's going to love this. i honestly, she follows you. well, nice to meet you. get my photo, greg. she'll no' believe this. is that it? brilliant. nice to meet you. i mean, it might actually look quite nice to photograph it from up... see in that field there? that's what i was thinking. arthur eats, sleeps, breathes, trains. it's how he has made friends.

it's how he's got, you know, a social element. arthur was diagnosed with autism when he was quite small — four, and kids at school didn't really get that, so it felt like his world was quite lonely. i mean, he didn't care cos he wasjust interested in the trains, much like my, you know, train driver husband. he has found a passion. trying to get a good photo. usually angle, light. yeah. the light�*s not terrible. yeah, well... it could be worse. all right, here we go. school holidays, this is where i am. i'm not in an office. i'm not sitting on my sofa. i'm standing while my son is on a bridge or at the end of the platform, and i'm just working from where i have to. and my clients are not averse, luckily, to me setting up a zoom call in a waiting room or talking to me, and i'm like, "hold on a minute, we're just going through a tunnel." i get asked a lot about why i do this, but for me

it's his passion, and... ..i don't know, what mum wouldn't want to, like, allow and encourage their kid to be passionate about something? oh! train horn. that might have scared me. well, let me guess, was that when they, um, did the horn? maybe. then there's that. that one's a bit better. yeah, that's quite good. i think yours is better framed than my one. my great—uncle actually campaigned to keep this

line open when it was planned for closure. the particular section between inverness and kyle of lochalsh. tannoy: we are now| approaching dingwall. please mind the gap when alighting from this train. so, during this final journey, i'vejust learned that the factory we visited in derby a few days ago is stopping production, and thousands ofjobs are now at risk.

it's a real shame cos we met people there who are so passionate and loved working there. what has been a thriving site for, you know, over 100 years is potentially coming to an end. train horn blows. there are some sounds on the railway that actually bring out a lot of emotion in me, especially thinking about, uh, derby now and what's happening. don't know why i'm getting emotional. after stopping at 87 stations from the south coast to the north, ifinally made it to my final destination,

spending just £169 on tickets over the past five days. well, i would say after travelling 900 miles and arriving here in thurso, i'm very, very, very proud to be a railway enthusiast... ..and i love our british railway network. oh. and what a destination to finish on. and with that, i'm going to take off.

warmer weather and sunshine. the rest of the bank holiday weekend is probably looking better. there will be sunshine at times but there will be sunshine at times but there will be heavy and perhaps thundery showers around. two things have been happening, this weather from showers around. two things have been happening, this weatherfrom coming in from the south—west bringing with it rain and another weather from the head of that taking rain from the north sea so we have a wet start for

many central and northern part on sunday. both are moving northwards and followed by sunshine and some showers. the showers may well be heavy and heavy and thundery and the greatest risk of those, they will be across northern england into the midlands, east anglia, maybe localised flooding and because we have more showers on sunday, temperatures will be lower, 19 degrees perhaps across south—eastern part of england. heading into the end of the bank holiday weekend, low pressure sitting close by. that will bring more showers around. many places. dry on monday with sunshine, the crowd will build up and a scattering of showers will develop both the heavier ones and thundery ones are more likely to be across the northern half of scotland. winter will be light, if you are in this country and it will feel quite warm but those temperatures typically 16 or 17 degrees for bank holiday monday. those numbers won't change much over the week ahead. we

will replace one area of low pressure with another one coming in from the atlantic. the weather fronts around that are not classic with a front that are bringing mantle of cloud and rain, it looks rather more showery on tuesday, a charity where they're pushing across northern ireland, england and wales and eventually toward scotland, the driest weather probably going to be in the north—east of scotland and temperatures typically 16 or 17 degrees on tuesday. that area of low pressure tends to track more across the uk on wednesday, taking that showery weather across more areas, the worst of that may be pushing away into the near continent but left with more showers developing on wednesday and some heavier ones around the centre and northern parts of england. those temperatures 17 degrees, get some sunshine, 18 or 19 as possible. that area of low pressure is going to move away into that near continent and before this height moves in from the atlantic, the wind direction may change from

south—westerly at the beginning of the week to more of a north—westerly breeze, bringing cooler weather towards the far north—west eventually. into more showers, particularly across england and wales. these ones in northern ireland may well move away but we have that north to north to north westerly breeze. temperatures westerly breeze. tem peratu res sitting westerly breeze. temperatures sitting at around 16, 17, 18 degrees on thursday. further ahead, sitting at around 16, 17, 18 degrees on thursday. furtherahead, high pressure will come in for the outlook. here it is out in the atlantic, never really built right over the uk, so we keep that north—westerly breeze for a while. the centre of the high, more toward southern areas, lower pressure towards the north of scotland, strengthening winds across northern areas and it will be mainly across scotland and northern ireland we see any rain later in the week and into the weekend. southern areas of the uk probably turning dry up with sunshine and a quite a bit of cloud, temperatures creeping up a generally speaking close to average.

live from london. this is bbc news. rishi sunak vows to bring back mandatory national service for 18—year—olds if the conservatives win the general election. meanwhile, labour's been answering questions on its plan for the economy, and it promises not to increase income tax if it wins on polling day. sirens heard across tel aviv — as hamas say it launched a large missile attack on the city — the first in months. and i'm covering the rr hunger in how tearing and it is just days ahead of south africa's elections and it is all to play for with the ruling anc expected to lose its

majority in parliament. —— i'm