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Thursday 24 Apr 2025

Railway 200: Bookings now open for unique touring exhibition train coming to London Waterloo this July

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Wessex

• Bicentenary train, Inspiration, will visit London Waterloo station 18-19 July as one of 60 locations across Britain over 12 months, promoting rail innovation and careers.
• Inspiration will also visit Margate station (20-21 July) and the Bluebell Railway (23-29 July) across Network Rail’s Southern region.
• More than 200,000 visitors expected. Tickets now available to book for visits from 27 June to 1 October.

Bookings have now opened for visits to a new and unique exhibition train, part of a national celebration of the 200^th anniversary of the modern railway called Railway 200. 

The train, named Inspiration, launches at Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire on 27 June and will criss-cross Britain over the following 12 months, visiting 60 locations including London Waterloo station, showcasing rail’s past, present and future in new, fun and engaging ways.

Across Network Rail’s Southern region, which serves rail passengers and freight operators from Devon in the West, to Kent in the East, this exhibition train will also visit Margate station in Kent (20-21 July) and the Bluebell Railway in Sussex (23-29 July).

Tickets are now available to book for visits from 27 June to 1 October. The itinerary for the rest of 2025 and first six months of 2026 will be confirmed this summer. 

Curated in partnership with the National Railway Museum, Inspiration will be the only exhibition train on the rail network and will help to attract the next generation of pioneering talent to the railway.

Inspiration will comprise four eye-catching carriages. Rail’s pioneering pedigree will be explored in a ‘Railway Firsts’ coach, highlighting landmark moments in rail’s development. Alongside will be a ‘Wonderlab on Wheels’, inviting visitors to test their engineering skills with hands-on exhibits.  Next will be a ‘Your Railway Future’ carriage, showcasing some of the more hidden roles in rail and encouraging people to join the railway to shape the next 200 years. The final coach is a ‘Partner Zone’, offering free, flexible exhibition space. 

The carriages are currently being fitted out, supported by a £250k grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

More than 200,000 people, including many schoolchildren, are expected to visit by prior booking. Admission to the train will be free, but normal entry charges to heritage railways and private sites where it is located will apply.

The train will visit the North East of England in September - rail’s 200th anniversary month - as part of S&DR200, a nine-month international festival inspired by the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) in 1825, a journey that changed the world forever.

Bookings are now open for:

Date(s)	Location
27 June – 6 July 2025	Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster, Worcestershire
8 - 10 July 2025	Birmingham Moor Street station
12 - 15 July 2025	London Euston station
18 - 19 July 2025	London Waterloo station
20 – 21 July 2025	Margate station, Kent
23 – 29 July 2025	Bluebell Railway, Sussex
7 – 10 August 2025	Norwich station, Norfolk
11 – 14 August 2025	Lowestoft station, Suffolk

To book visit https://railway200.co.uk/inspiration/

Bookings for the following events will open in the coming weeks and we’ll notify you in advance. You can also check our webpage and social channels for the latest updates. 

16 – 17 August 2025	Freightliner Doncaster Railport, South Yorkshire
23 – 31 August 2025	National Railway Museum, York
10 – 17 September 2025	Darlington station, County Durham
20 September – 1 October 2025	Locomotion Museum, Shildon, County Durham

Inspiration is also visiting ‘Alstom Presents: The Greatest Gathering’ in Derby between 1 & 3 August 2025, but please note that this event is already sold out. 

No passengers will be carried on the train as it travels to its exhibition sites. Booked visits will take place between 10am and 5pm, with the on-train experience expected to last up to an hour. A virtual tour of the exhibition experience is planned for those who are unable to visit in person.

Mark Goodall, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “It’s really exciting to be welcoming the bicentenary train, Inspiration, to London Waterloo station this July.

“The visit of Inspiration is just one of a wide range of activities taking place across Network Rail’s Wessex route and Southern region more widely alongside our numerous train operator colleagues and partners.

“I strongly encourage people to book now to avoid disappointment and make the most of this exciting programme of events taking place across the country this year.”

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway interim managing director, said: “It’s wonderful to see the railway family coming together to mark the 200^th anniversary of the railway, providing us with a brilliant opportunity to reflect on its illustrious past and very promising future.

“At South Western Railway we have activities planned across our network throughout the year, from London all the way down to the Isle of Wight. We’re especially looking forward to welcoming Inspiration to London Waterloo, celebrating the railway with enthusiasts old and new.”

Emma Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, a cross-sector, Government-backed bicentenary campaign, said: “This special exhibition train is set to become a new, national visitor attraction, providing an unforgettable experience for hundreds of thousands of people across Britain, including many schoolchildren. It will excite, enlighten, entertain and inspire them to take a fresh look at the railway, as part of its anniversary celebrations.”

You can find out more about Inspiration and what you can expect from this unique experience here. 

For more on Railway 200 and how to get involved visit www.railway200.co.uk