News

• 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.

• Exhibition commemorating 200 years of railway opened to the public last week 

• Curator Mark Jones hosted opening event at Herne Bay’s Seaside Museum 

• Trove of vintage photos, posters and uniforms on display until 19 July  

• Erin Jessop, 12, wins design-a-bear contest with heart-themed teddy now joining station's mascot collection.
• Celebrations included arts and crafts, music, and a teddy bear’s picnic at the historic Elmers End station.
• Bear collection has raised over £2,000 for charity and supported community events, including during the pandemic.

• Southeastern and Hornby jointly unveil the new Railway 200 Class 395 ‘Javelin’ highspeed train
• 395015 carries a specially designed Railway 200 graphic and is also the first in the fleet to receive the new highspeed livery
• Unveiling held at Margate railway station – the home of Hornby – and attended by local businesses and attractions that have benefited from highspeed rail
• Investment in the fleet has helped to drive a post-pandemic record of just over 15 million journeys on domestic high-speed services in the last financial year

• 10,000 Advance tickets available for just £5 across Southeastern trains on 5 and 6 April

• Offer ties into Kent Big Weekend with attractions across Kent taking part.

• Tickets available exclusively via the Southeastern website and app from 22 to–28 March

In celebration of 200 years of railway history, Network Rail is offering exclusive tours at London Waterloo, London Victoria, and London Bridge stations. These tours, led by renowned railway historian Rachel Kolsky, will take you on a journey through time, revealing the fascinating development of these iconic stations.