News

To mark the opening of Blackheath station on 30 July 1849 over £1.7m has been invested in a glorious heritage makeover, which not only greatly enhances the customer experience, but harks back to the golden age of rail travel in what is the Railway 200 celebratory year.

Special train showcasing the past, present and future of our railway attracts young people to careers on the network, with the Bluebell Railway the next stop on the tour.

• Name the bear competition
• Raffle
• Vintage bus rides
• Trades stands
• ..and more!

• Celebrate 200 years of railway history – Southeastern is opening the doors to Ashford Train Maintenance Centre for a special behind-the-scenes open day
• Thousands of visitors will have a rare chance to get up close with a range of trains and see what it takes to keep one of the country’s biggest and busiest operators running
• Tickets on sale now, but expected to sell out quickly – buy yours today

As part of our ongoing Railway 200 celebrations across our network, three colleagues recently collaborated with the Strange Cargo Arts Company to produce three bronze sculptures, which are now permanently on display outside Folkestone West station.

• Southeastern train turned into a moving classroom to encourage more girls to consider a career in railway engineering  
  
  
• Students from Mulberry School for Girls met with female engineers and Purpose Coalition Chair and former Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening  
  
  
• Event celebrates Women in Engineering Day and the birthday of pioneering engineer Verena Holmes 

• Special exhibition to celebrate the history of the first railway to carry passengers by steam hauled trains
• Part of Southeastern's ongoing Railway 200 celebrations

• Celebrate 200 years of railway history – Southeastern is opening the doors to Ashford Train Maintenance Centre for an exclusive behind-the-scenes open day
• Go where the public never goes – our engineering team will guide train enthusiasts of all ages through one of the region's largest and most impressive train depots
• Sunday 24th August – tickets go on sale soon, so don't miss your chance to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event!

Turner 250 x Railway 200: Not only is this a momentous year for our railway, 2025 also marks the 250^th birthday of a much loved and respected ‘local’ artist on our patch – JMW Turner. You may have heard of him?

On Monday 5 May, Rochester station welcomed over 13,000 customers through its gates as they travelled to the annual Sweeps Festival - but this year was different from others as Station Manager Bev Rickwood put on a very special event to celebrate Railway 200 and commemorate VE Day, which raised nearly £3,000 for the Poppy Appeal.

• Bicentenary train, Inspiration, will visit Margate station from 20-21 July as one of 60 locations across Britain over 12 months, promoting rail innovation and careers.
• Inspiration will also visit London Waterloo station (18-19 July) and the Bluebell Railway (23-29 July) across Network Rail’s Southern region.
• More than 200,000 visitors expected.
• Tickets are now available to book for visits from 27 June to 1 October.