Railway 200 était la plus grande célébration ferroviaire au monde

• 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, la célébration nationale des 200 ans du chemin de fer moderne, est devenue la plus grande fête ferroviaire au monde, inspirant plus de 10 000 activités et événements auxquels ont participé au moins 400 000 personnes.

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, responsable du programme Railway 200, a déclaré : “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.