TransPennine Express Unveils Railway 200 Train at Newcastle Station
TransPennine Express has celebrated 200 years of the modern railway with the unveiling of a specially named Nova 1 (Class 802) train at Newcastle Station.
The Railway 200-themed train was revealed on Friday 19 December, with invited guests and an enthusiastic crowd on hand to witness the launch. The event highlighted the historic significance of the North East in the development of Britain’s railways.
Andrew McLean, Assistant Director and Head Curator at the National Railway Museum, attended the unveiling alongside TransPennine Express colleagues to mark the anniversary. The new train, emblazoned with the date “1825,” commemorates two centuries since the Stockton & Darlington Railway—the world’s first modern passenger railway—opened on 27 September 1825.
Passengers on the first service experienced the launch firsthand, with conductors announcing they were onboard the newly named “1825” train. The train will now operate on the Liverpool–Newcastle route, bringing the Railway 200 tribute to communities across the North.
The launch coincides with TransPennine Express increasing the number of daily services through Newcastle, adding 2,000 extra seats per day between Newcastle and Edinburgh as part of its December timetable change.
Graham Meiklejohn, Head of Regional Development, Stakeholders & Communities at TransPennine Express, said:
“We’re delighted to unveil our Railway 200 train here in Newcastle—right in the region where the modern railway began. Our Nova 1 will carry this tribute across the North, connecting people and places while celebrating the legacy of Britain’s railways and the role they continue to play in people’s lives today.”
Andrew McLean added:
“As this momentous year for rail draws to a close, it’s a privilege to be involved in the naming of this train here in Newcastle, the city of George and Robert Stephenson and where they constructed Locomotion, the locomotive which hauled that first train on the Stockton & Darlington Railway way back in 1825.”
Image: TransPennine Express