Severn Valley Railway will be the first stop for a unique train on a 12-month tour of Britain celebrating 200 years of the modern railway.

The Railway 200 train, named Inspiration, is planned to call at 60 destinations as part of its journey to promote the past, present and future of the railway and inspire the next generation of railway talent and workers.

More than 200,000 people, including many schoolchildren, are expected to visit the one-of-a-kind train as it makes its way around the national rail network*. It will be made up of four specially decorated carriages, each with its own theme and focus.

Inspiration will arrive at Severn Valley Railway’s Kidderminster station on 26 June, ahead of being opened to visitors between 27 June and 6 July 2025.

To celebrate being the first station to host the train, teams from Network Rail’s Central route and Severn Valley Railway (SVR) gathered at SVR’s Kidderminster station to welcome one of the heritage railway’s favourite steam trains – locomotive 75069 – as it pulled into the platform with a special Railway 200 headboard. The famous loco was one of nearly 200 which took part in this year’s New Year’s Day ‘whistle-up’ to officially signal the start of Railway 200.

The West Midlands will also be the second stop for the exhibition train when it calls in the centre of Birmingham between 8 and 10 July. Inspiration will be based at Birmingham Moor Street where Chiltern Railways will welcome visitors for three days, before the train resumes its journey and heads to Euston station.

Other locations confirmed for Inspiration to call at include the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, the National Railway Museum in York, a freight depot in Doncaster and Waterloo station in London.

If you’d like more information on Railway 200 and how to get involved, including an interactive map showing over 250 planned anniversary activities and events, visit railway200.co.uk