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Thursday 24 Apr 2025

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

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Sussex

• Bicentenary train, Inspiration, will visit the Bluebell Railway 23-29 July in Sussex as one of 60 locations across Britain over 12 months, promoting rail innovation and careers.
• Inspiration will also visit Waterloo station (18-19 July) and Margate station (20-21 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 the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, 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 London Waterloo station (18-19 July) and Margate station in Kent (20-21 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.

The visit of Inspiration to the Bluebell Railway follows the signing of an agreement between the heritage line and Network Rail, which will see further collaboration between the two organisations – the first of its kind in the south of England. The landmark agreement will benefit the Bluebell Railway through the donation of redundant railway assets, with Network Rail providing railway materials such as rail and sleepers no longer needed on the mainline railway across Sussex.

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “We’re delighted to have Inspiration visiting Sussex alongside our partners at the Bluebell Railway.

“This special exhibition train will undoubtedly be a huge draw to this important heritage rail route and provide a fantastic experience for people across Sussex, particularly school children, as part of our wider Railway 200 celebrations.

“We look forward to welcoming Inspiration on its tour of Network Rail’s Southern region and we encourage people to make the most of and enjoy the many activities taking place this year as part of Railway 200.”

Neil Glaskin, Chairman of the Bluebell Railway, said: “2025 is a very special year which includes not only Railway 200 but also the sixty fifth anniversary of the Bluebell Railway. We are delighted to be welcoming Inspiration to the Bluebell Railway in July. The visit will be a highlight of our Railway 200 programme, which runs from June to September.”

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.”

Britain’s biggest train operator, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), has also joined forces with the Bluebell Railway, offering 9,000 schoolchildren and college students from Surrey and Greater London free rail tickets to East Grinstead with Southern and Thameslink for educational visits to ‘Railway 200 @ Bluebell Railway’ this summer. It is hoped these visits attract a new generation of youngsters from all backgrounds into the industry and build excitement ahead of the arrival of Inspiration to the Bluebell Railway in July. More details can be found at www.bluebell-railway.com/railway-200.

Angie Doll, Chief Executive Officer at GTR, said: “Two hundred years ago the modern railway came into existence and utterly transformed our society.

“The inventions, science and technology that created it makes for fascinating learning, which the Bluebell Railway is the perfect partner to deliver in a fun, engaging way.

“Working together, we hope to educate and inspire young people in rail’s past and future. We want to attract a new generation from all backgrounds into an industry with a rich heritage that remains relevant today. The railway is great for the climate, and helps our local communities thrive.”

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