The National Railway Museum and LNER presented rail projects for the future competition

The celebration of Railway 200 will begin on New Year’s Day 2025., London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and National Railway Museum (NRM) are launching two competitions that offer top-notch prizes.

Reaching out to younger generations, children are encouraged to demonstrate their ideas by drawing what they think trains, surrounding infrastructure and staff uniforms will look like in 200 years.

The competition is divided into two age groups: children from 12 to 17 years old are invited to draw trains of the future, paying special attention to the external and internal features of the train.

The first prize winner aged 12 to 17 years will be given a full tour of the Azuma train, including a ride in the mainline train driver’s cabin, turning the Azuma at mainline speed on a simulator at the LNER training center, and LNER first class tickets will also be awarded them and their families.

Children aged 11 and under were given the concept of creating a uniform that railway workers could wear in the future, including both for existing positions and for potential new positions arising in the future of rail travel.

The winning design of this prize will be brought to life and adapted for wear by LNER uniform supplier, Dimensions.

They will also receive LNER first class tickets for themselves and their family.

The competition challenges children to design by thinking about the many ways the railway and the world will evolve over the next two centuries.

The best projects must illustrate the possible practicality of how they can meet the needs of LNER employees or clients, communities along the ECML route and the natural world along the routes, will be warmly received by a selected panel of LNER experts and NRM members on the judging panel.

The competition runs until Friday, December 13, 2024.

2025 marks the 200th anniversary of first passenger journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway considered by many to be the birth of the modern railway.

Zheleznodorozhnaya 200 is a national celebration that will take place across the UK and in locations around the world next year, celebrating the history of railways and encouraging new generations to consider a career in the railway sector.

“At LNER we are always looking to the future, exploring how our trains can be more environmentally friendly and how we can continually improve the journey for our customers. This competition is a great opportunity to see how young people see the development of railway transport. We’re excited to see brilliant projects and interesting ideas, and we might even discover future railway engineers!”

Linda Wayne, LNER Technical Director