Neil Oliver to front new documentary on Britain's deadliest rail disaster

Historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver is to present a special BBC Scotland documentary to mark the centenary of the Quintinshill Rail Disaster.

The one-off documentary on Britain’s deadliest ever rail crash at Quintinshill near Gretna (pictured right), which claimed the lives of many Scottish soldiers on their way to the front line, will be transmitted in May. Neil Oliver presents and narrates the story, offering new insights into the tragedy of May 1915 that claimed the lives of many soldiers from Edinburgh who were travelling on a troop train on their way to postings in Gallipoli.

Read our expert guide to the Quintinshill disaster.

The programme is part of BBC Scotland's four-year schedule of World War I centenary documentaries which also includes Scotland’s War at Sea, presented and narrated by actor David Hayman.

The two, hour-long documentaries will examine Scotland’s pivotal part in the naval campaign - from the massing of the British Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow, to the role of Forth-based battle cruisers in the Battle of Jutland and the development of technology to detect the German U-boats which had claimed the Clyde-built Lusitania as an early casualty of a deadly campaign.

Scotland’s War at Sea will be shown on BBC Two Scotland at 9.00 pm on Tuesday 7 April, and on Tuesday 14 April.

The exact date for Quintinshill will be released on BBC Scotland's website nearer the time.

A CONFLICT THAT TOUCHED LIVES

Donalda MacKinnon, Head of Programmes and Services for BBC Scotland, said: 'This latest round of content across television, radio and online again reflects the range and quality of our offering to audiences during this ambitious season.

'It was a conflict that touched many lives and communities throughout Scotland and we hope this wide variety of productions will continue to engage our audiences during the commemorative period.'

Read more about Scotland and World War I in History Scotland's archive.

(Neil Oliver image copyright Ben Salter)