Monday 26 Jan 2026
Railway 200 was world’s largest rail celebration
- 10,000+ activities and events attended by 400,000+ people
- Included world’s biggest rail festival
- Engaged tens of millions of people across 180+ countries
- Sets the standard for other nations’ future commemorations
Railway 200, the national celebration of 200 years of the modern railway, became the world’s largest rail celebration, inspiring more than 10,000 activities and events attended by at least 400,000 people.
It engaged with tens of millions of people in more than 180 countries across five continents, exploring the past, present and future of the railway, and how it transformed people’s lives and livelihoods.
The partner-led campaign, driven by a dedicated core team, started on New Year’s Day last year with a global Whistle-Up of 200 locomotives, described by the Heritage Railway Association as the biggest heritage rail mass participation event ever. The world’s biggest rail festival was hosted by Alstom in Derby and attended by 42,000 people. In just a week in September, more than 100,000 people flocked to events in Shildon, the cradle of the railways, as part of S&DR200, a major international festival in the North East of England.
As part of a growing legacy, Railway 200 has already encouraged 100,000 young people to consider a career in rail. This mission continues with the Railway 200 exhibition train, Inspiration, which tours Britain until the end of June. It has attracted 60,000 visitors so far, achieving a 9 out of 10 recommendation rating.
The campaign included commemorative items such as coins from The Royal Mint, stamps from The Royal Mail and a poem from the Poet Laureate.
It attracted considerable profile, including in documentaries, across social media, and on TV, radio and national newspapers. Media monitoring recorded nearly 9,000 items of positive campaign coverage, with a potential reach of 20.6 billion. The website, which hosts the biggest educational online resource in the rail industry, has had 1.7 million page views so far.
Railway 200 won the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism award from VisitEngland.
Emma Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, said:
“By any measure the bicentenary celebration was an unqualified success, thanks to the many people and organisations who became history-makers by getting involved. It brought the rail industry together, inspired people to re-evaluate rail’s role and showcased the railway as a varied and rewarding career open to all. It helped to build considerable goodwill towards, and restore pride in, a British invention that changed the world.
“The legacy of the campaign is being evaluated for the industry to build upon, but has included new progressive partnerships, new public artworks, new career pathways, and stronger links between mainline and heritage railways. Railway 200 has set the standard for other countries’ national rail celebrations in the years ahead.”
Alan Hyde, who led marketing and communications for the Railway 200 national team, added:
“The campaign is a case study in collaboration. It’s been amazing to see what was only a notion two years or so ago develop into an international campaign with scale, substance and significance.
“Thanks to our many partners, the campaign realised its ambition of becoming the UK’s biggest rail story told by the UK’s biggest rail partnership. It’s a privilege to have been involved.”
A public summary of Railway 200 will be published in March, following further feedback from partners.
Notes to Editors
Notes to Editors:
Partner activity is too much to list here, but included floral displays, plaques, murals, cakes, sandscapes, train namings, galas, presentations and talks, poetry and book readings, competitions, exhibitions, record-breaking events, light projections on station buildings, a flashmob, a maze, promotions, brochures and heritage railway festivals.
Shared storytelling covered a vast array of topics, highlighting the railway’s huge contribution to the sweep of socio-economic history, and its plans for the future.
Branding. The Railway 200 logo was applied on countless online and offline material including train tickets, the National Rail and other websites, TV advertising, station signage, intranets, banners, bunting, cakes, plaques, book covers, menus, email signatures and even knitwear. It was rapidly adopted and became a widely recognised symbol across and beyond the rail sector, providing visual coherence to the campaign.
TIMELINE OF MAJOR MOMENTS
Sept 2024: Public launch at Darlington with S&DR200
December 2024: Launch of Railway 200 charity partnership
January 2025: Global Whistle-Up signals start of bicentenary
January: Royal Mail release commemorative coins
January: Railway 200 Rail Sale
January: National launch of Railway 200 in Wales
January: Launch of Railway 200 merchandise range by Science Museum Group
February: Global poll opens to vote for favourite UK rail artwork
March: Launch of S&DR200
March: Railway 200 Challenge Badge launches for brownies and girl guides worldwide
April: Launch of Railway 200’s Great Rail Tales podcast series
April: Bookings open for Railway 200’s exhibition train, Inspiration
Summer: Open Days at rail sites, including some for first time
May: Railway 200-inspired Community Rail Week
June: Railway 200 wins Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award from VisitEngland
June: Start of 3-month ‘Railway 200 @ The Bluebell Railway’
June: Industry and public launches of Inspiration train
July: Young Railway Photographer of the Year announced by NRM
July: BBC Radio 2’s 21st Century Folk project starts
August: Alstom’s The Greatest Gathering
August: GWR’s world record-breaking run by a battery-powered train on a single charge
September: Commemorative poem from the Poet Laureate published
September: National Railway Museum re-opens refurbished Station Hall
September: S&DR200 at Shildon, including historic journey by replica Loco No.1
September: All-day rail bicentenary broadcast on BBC Radio 3
September: BBC 2’s 200 Years of Railways series with Michael Portillo, followed by other documentaries on Channel 4 and More4
September: Historic England lists seven new railway sites as part of Railway 200
September: Royal Mail launches commemorative stamps
October: Historic England unveil blue plaque at former home of Rev Awdry
October: Ashington wins RDG’s Railway 200-themed World Cup of Stations
October: Launch of 3D virtual tour of exhibition train
November: Railway 200 contingent represented at Cenotaph parade and first industry-wide remembrance service, attended by HM The Queen
December: Community Rail Network ‘Railway 200 takeover week’ on social media
December: Railway 200 time capsule installed at Derby College
… Railway 200’s exhibition train continues to tour Britain until end of June 2026.
Photo captions and credits:
- HS2 celebrates Railway 200 at newly built Colne Valley Viaduct (credit: HS2)
- The Railway 200 exhibition train, Inspiration, has been a hit with children (credit: Southeastern Railway)
- Children enjoy the interactive exhibits inside Inspiration (credit: Jack Boskett and Railway 200)
- Railway 200 celebrated diversity and inclusion in the railway (credit: Network Rail)
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Alan Hyde
railway200@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
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