- First six months of year-long anniversary schedule confirmed
- Get inspired – book or register interest now
New tour dates and destinations to visit a unique exhibition train were announced today (11 June), as part of Railway 200, the national celebration of the 200th anniversary of the modern railway.
The schedule for the train, named Inspiration, now covers 27 locations across England, Scotland and Wales to the end of the bicentenary year. The train opens to the public on 27 June at the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire and will criss-cross Britain for 12 months, visiting 60 locations and showcasing rail’s past, present and future. The tour for 2026 will be unveiled later this year.
Free tickets to board the train are now available to book from 27 June to 17 August and registrations of interest are open for visits from 23 August to 20 December 2025. Those who register their interest will be the first to be informed when new bookings open.
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.
The train comprises four eye-catching carriages, powered by a locomotive. Rail’s pioneering pedigree will be explored in a ‘Railway Firsts’ coach, highlighting landmark moments in rail’s development. Adjoining 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 fit-out of the carriages is nearing completion, supported by a £250k grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and generous funding from Porterbrook covering the distinctive external livery, which will be unveiled later this month.
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.
This year’s tour:
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| Fri 27 June – Sun 6 July | Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster, Worcestershire |
| Tue 8 – Thu 10 July | Birmingham Moor Street station |
| Sat 12 – Tue 15 July | London Euston station |
| Fri 18 – Sat 19 July | London Waterloo station |
| Sun 20 – Mon 21 July | Margate station, Kent |
| Wed 23 – Tue 29 July | Bluebell Railway, Sussex |
| Fri 1 – Sun 3 August | Alstom’s Litchurch Lane site, Derby (for The Greatest Gathering) |
| Thu 7 – Sun 10 August | Norwich station, Norfolk |
| Mon 11 – Thu 14 August | Lowestoft station, Suffolk |
| Sat 16 – Sun 17 August | Freightliner Doncaster Railport, South Yorkshire |
| Sat 23 – Sun 31 August | National Railway Museum, York (as part of the NRM’s 50th birthday) |
| Wed 10 – Wed 17 September | Darlington station, County Durham (as part of S&DR200) |
| Sat 20 September – Wed 1 October | Locomotion museum, Shildon, County Durham (as part of S&DR200) |
| Sat 4 October | Hitachi Open Day, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham |
| Sun 5 – Tue 7 October | North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Grosmont |
| Sat 11 – Sun 12 October | Glasgow Central station |
| Mon 13 – Tue 14 October | Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway |
| Thu 16 – Fri 17 October | Strathspey Railway |
| Sun 19 – Mon 20 October | Aberdeen station |
| Wed 22 – Thu 23 October | Edinburgh Waverley station |
| Sat 25 October – Sun 2 November | Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, West Yorkshire (as part of Bradford UK City of Culture) |
| Tue 4 – Fri 7 November | Blackpool North station, Lancashire |
| Mon 24 – Sat 29 November | West Somerset Railway, Bishops Lydeard |
| Mon 8 – Sat 13 December | London Paddington station |
| Sun 14 – Tue 16 December | Southampton Central station |
| Thu 18 – Sat 20 December | London Victoria station |
Llandudno in North Wales will be added to the tour in November once dates are confirmed, and further destinations are being explored for Wales in 2026.
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. Last entry is at 4pm. A virtual tour of the exhibition experience will be available for those who are unable to visit in person.
Emma Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, the 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 celebration.”
Charlotte Kingston from the National Railway Museum added: “The National Railway Museum is a proud partner of Railway 200 and we’re thrilled that ‘Inspiration’ will be touring the country, sharing our stories with so many people. Railways have shaped our world in so many ways, from what we eat to where we go on holiday, and to inspire people with that epic narrative and give them a chance to get involved in this celebration is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”