The first episode of The Railway Killers takes us back to a time when the streets of London were plagued by muggings and sexual assaults, and an under-resourced police force were struggling to keep control. On a wintry night in December 1985, 19-year-old Alison Day goes missing after getting off a train – and her disappearance turns into a murder hunt when her body is recovered from a canal. Police are shocked and horrified by the murder method that they discover – but press speculation hinders their enquiry, and without any forensic evidence or witnesses, the investigation comes under threat of closure. As they struggle to find Alison’s killer, the railway murderer strikes again. In April 1986, life in a sleepy Surrey commuter town is shattered when a 15-year-old schoolgirl is abducted, sexually assaulted and killed. Again, the murder takes place near a railway line and, thanks to new computer technology, the police realise that the same horrific murder method has been used.
The Railway Killers was broadcast on Channel 5 at Monday 16 August 2021, 21:00.