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Wednesday 4 Jun 2025

Student artwork celebrating Railway 200 unveiled at Birmingham New Street

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

A collection of specially created drawings connecting the railway with some of Birmingham's most famous names has been unveiled.

On display at Birmingham New Street, nearly 30 different pieces of art by pupils and students at 6 schools and colleges across the city have been installed as part of this year's Railway 200 celebrations. 

The designs highlight famous Birmingham businesses, brands, and historical figures and show how important the railway was to their development and ambitions.

From the founding fathers of the city – Boulton, Watt and Murdoch - to internationally famous brands such as Cadbury, Dunlop and HP Sauce, each piece has been specially created to celebrate the past, present, and future of the railway and its role in the towns, cities, and communities it serves. 

The artwork was unveiled today at the station by students and pupils from the colleges and schools involved in the project

Denise Wetton, Network Rail's Central route director, said: "It's fantastic to have local schools and colleges showcasing their brilliant artwork at Birmingham New Street as part of Railway 200 celebrations. The station is at the heart of the city centre and plays a big part in the local community and, with more than 100,000 people using it every day, I hope the pupils' and students' creativity gets the recognition it deserves. It was a pleasure to see the artwork on display and to help unveil it with the schools and colleges."  

Jay Barber from Woodrush High School, said: "For our young artists to have been granted creative licence by Network Rail to research, draft, and produce work for public display, is applied learning at its very best. Using historic archives, iconic logos and distinctive colour palettes, our young people have creatively reimagined the spirit of our industrial heritage and the legacy of the railway network which continues to serve and connect people, places, and productivity. We are so proud of the efforts and talents of each of the young artists - the results of which, all city travellers can now enjoy."

Fraser Pithie, community lead for Network Rail's Central route, added: "We are proud to have this brilliant artwork on display in the station. It's an exciting year celebrating Railway 200 and seeing young people share their creative thoughts on the history of the railway is something to be proud of. We hope this artwork and Railway 200 might help encourage them to be some of the future leaders in this exciting and important industry." 

The artwork is the latest in a series of celebrations marking 200 years of the railway in Britain, including murals being unveiled in Warwick's Priory Park and statues of Shakespeare being installed at every station between Birmingham Moor Street and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Next month, the West Midlands will be the first two stops for a special train, named Inspiration, which will be touring stations and locations across Britain over the next 12 months.

Made up of four specially created carriages focusing on the past, present and future of the railway, the train will be unveiled for the first time at the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster on 27 June, where it will be open to visitors until 6 July. It will then move to Birmingham city centre where it will be hosted by Chiltern Railways at Birmingham Moor Street station for three days from 8 to 10 July.

Tickets for the Inspiration train are free but must be booked in advance. Booking and more information can be found at www.railway200.co.uk/inspiration