The boy who is never lost: Autistic 12-year-old knows every train route in London, Paris and Manchester

The boy who is never lost: Autistic 12-year-old knows every train route in London, Paris and Manchester - Luke Bowman is the boy who is never lost thanks to an amazing knowledge of public transport.

The autistic 12-year-old knows all the train and bus routes across Greater Manchester, plus the London and Paris underground systems.

Luke, who wants to be a train driver, is so knowledgeable that he managed to get himself and his father from his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, to Brittany using only public transport.

Brainy: Luke Bowman knows all the train and bus routes across Greater Manchester as well as the London and Paris underground systems

His mother Tracey said: 'He even knows all the underground stops in Paris and exactly where to change.

'There is nothing that Luke doesn't know about trains, from the country where they were made to their model numbers and what engines are in them.

'If he's not researching trains on the internet, he's drawing them.'

Luke has been fascinated with trains since he began collecting Thomas the Tank Engine models as a toddler.

Luke knows all the routes on the London Underground and has been fascinated with trains since he began collecting Thomas the Tank Engine models as a toddler

The youngster, who is also keen on buses, was the only child to visit the Siemens train maintenance facility in Ardwick for a behind-the-scenes tour, three years ago.

But when rail bosses realised just how passionate Luke and many other autistic youngsters were about trains they threw open the doors.

Last month, he was among 200 members of the National Autistic Society to be taken on a tour of the region's rail depot.

Luke knows all about the Paris Metro and once got himself and his family from Oldham, Manchester to Brittany, France on public transport

He said: 'It makes me really proud to think I started it all. It's the third time I've been and it was a brilliant day.'

Luke, a pupil at the Blue Coat school, got up close to the 51-strong fleet of trains, tried out the on-site train simulator and sat in a train cab.

Tracey added: 'His memory is unbelievable. He's so bright that there's a bit of a running joke in the family that if you are ever lost - just ring Luke.' ( dailymail.co.uk )