Railway 200

Railway 200 was a year-long celebration held throughout 2025, marking 200 years since the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the world's first steam-hauled, fare-paying passenger journey; an event deemed "the birth of the modern railway".

From January to December, thousands of events commemorated the anniversary. These included the world's largest ever rail festival, a recreation of the original journey along the railway, and an exhibition train touring Britain (scheduled to continue until June 2026), telling the story of railways. They raised funds in support of five UK charities.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, was formally opened on 27 September 1825, with events including the world's first steam-hauled, fare-paying railway passenger journey.^[a][1] This has been described as "the birth of the modern railway".^[2][3]

Celebrations were also held for the 50th,^[4] 100th^[5] and 150th^[6] anniversaries of the opening of the S&DR.

National celebrations in the UK were led by Railway 200, an organisation consisting of a core team housed within Network Rail, with the involvement of rail businesses, heritage organisations, preserved railways, community groups and others.^[7] Events were grouped into four themes, "education and skills", "innovation, technology and environment", "heritage, culture and tourism", and "celebrating railway people".^[7] The majority were delivered by organisations in the rail industry or related sectors, such as tourism and heritage (including the National Railway Museum, which was also celebrating its own 50th anniversary^[8]), or by grass-roots organisations including community rail partnerships.^[9]

Railway 200 raised funds in support of five UK charities: Alzheimer's Research UK, Railway Children, Railway Mission, the Railway Benefit Fund and the Transport Benevolent Fund.^[10]

Celebrations began on 1 January 2025, when locomotives across the UK and overseas sounded their whistles and horns to signal the start of the bicentenary.^[11]

Thousands of events and activities took place across the UK.^[12] They ranged from small-scale local celebrations, like floral displays and murals at railway stations, to large-scale events, including:

• A commemorative poem, The Longest Train In The World, by the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage^[13][14]
• A commemorative £2 coin struck by the Royal Mint^[15]
• Commemorative stamps issued by Royal Mail^[16]
• A national vote to choose the best-loved UK railway artwork^[17] The winner was Train Landscape by Eric Ravilious; six of the top 20 were by Terence Cuneo.^[18]
• A world record-breaking run for a battery-powered train on a single charge. The GWR train, a Class 230 unit, travelled more than 200 miles^[19]
• Railway depot open days, including the first public opening of Hitachi Rail's factory at Newton Aycliffe^[20]
• A commemorative collection of models by Hornby^[21]
• The reopening of the National Railway Museum's Station Hall by Anne, Princess Royal, after a £10.5m restoration^[22]
• Listed building status for seven significant railway sites, including the S&DR's Cleveland Bay^[23]
• A blue plaque at the former home of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, author of the Thomas the Tank Engine series^[24]
• Two million rail tickets offered at half-price^[25]
• A Great Rail Tales podcast series, which captured stories of people involved in the railway^[26]
• A time capsule of railway-themed memories, sealed in Derby in December 2025, to be opened for the 250th anniversary in 2075.^[27]

Railway 200's exhibition train, called Inspiration, began its tour of Britain on 26 June 2025.^[28] The four-carriage train, made up of converted Mark 3 coaches, uses artefacts and interactive exhibits to explain the past, present and future of railways.^[29][30][31]

It was launched at Paddington station and is scheduled to make sixty stops on a year-long tour of Britain, ending in June 2026.^[32] By the end of 2025, it had been visited by 50,000 people as far north as the Cairngorms and as far south as Southampton.^[33]

The Greatest Gathering was an exhibition of railway vehicles hosted at Alstom's Derby Litchurch Lane Works during 1–3 August 2025. It was the world's largest-ever gathering of historic and modern rolling stock. 40,000 visitors, viewed over 140 railway vehicles and locomotives.^[34][35]

On the actual anniversary of the S&DR's opening, more than 100,000 people visited the North East of England for celebrations including a re-enactment of Locomotion No. 1's historic journey along the line.^[36][37]

Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, visited the replica Locomotion No. 1 at the start of its journey at Locomotion museum in Shildon, and travelled in a carriage pulled by the replica.^[38]

Events were held in more than a dozen countries, including Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa and the USA.^[11][39]

British broadcasters marked the anniversary with several TV documentaries, including Michael Portillo's 200 Years of the Railways on the BBC^[40][41] and Britain's Railway Empire in Colour on Channel 4.^[42][43]

BBC Radio 2 broadcast a railway-themed special called 21st Century Folk, which saw the lives of five people involved in the railway turned into songs by leading folk artists.^[44]

On 27 September 2025, BBC Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawny broadcast all day as he travelled from Scotland to London, talking about the railways and playing music related to railways.^[45]

• Official website