The Heritage Railway Association (HRA) is appealing to heritage railways, tramways, and museums up and down the UK to build the 200^th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway into their plans.

With exactly two years to go until the anniversary of the famous opening of the railway linking coal mines in the Shildon area with the River Tees at Stockton, the HRA is keen to make sure that heritage railways don’t miss their chance to take part. A national celebration of the milestone is being co-ordinated by Network Rail, but heritage railways also have a golden opportunity to take advantage of the excitement generated.“This a once in a generation opportunity to enthuse people about railways; their history, their future and to celebrate the people who’ve made it all happen over the last two centuries. That’s why we’re calling on every heritage railway, tramway and museum to take their part in the anniversary year.

Heritage Railway Association Chief Executive, Steve Oates, said: “Railway 200 is about commemorating all the milestones in railway history that created the modern world that we live in…This a once in a generation opportunity to enthuse people about railways; their history, their future and to celebrate the people who’ve made it all happen over the last two centuries. That’s why we’re calling on every heritage railway, tramway and museum to take their part in the anniversary year.

Every single railway related organisation in the country will have the opportunity to be part of the anniversary plans. The celebrations will be year-long, but the peak of activity is expected to be around September 27, together with the weekends either side. The HRA wants its members to mark down the dates in their event plans for 2025 now. For further details follow this link: https://www.hra.uk.com/news/save-the-date-for-railway-200-says-hra

The Heritage Railway Associatiuon is the trade body for the industry and represents more than 180 heritage rail organisations. It has been pressing the case that the sector has been one of the hardest hit by the rapid rise in energy costs and reduction of visitor spending power.  The cumulative impact of huge electricity price rises and falling visitor spend together with already spiralling costs for coal are forcing many railways to make tough choices. Some are having to consider staffing redundancies or other cost-reducing measures in order to survive.  Follow this link: https://www.hra.uk.com/news/hra-keeps-up-the-pressure

The UK heritage rail sector encompasses more than 170 organsiations, running trains and trams on nearly 600 miles of track and operating between 460 stations. Heritage railways are a national speciality that could not function without volunteers. They rely on approximately 22,000 volunteers to support around 4,000 part and full-time staff, generating roughly £600m annually. The Heritage Railway Association estimates that up to 95% of the 18.5m journeys on British heritage railways each year are taken by domestic tourists.

Read more about the importance and impact of of heritage railways here: https://www.hra.uk.com/resources