The Kent and East Sussex Railway has announced details for its 50th Anniversary Gala.

The gala will take place on the 1st and 2nd June 2024 with three guest engines expected to be at the railway. These locomotives are being kept under wraps for now, but will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The official opening ceremony of the railway will be recreated on the first day of the gala by Ashford MP, Damian Green.

The Gala weekend will celebrate the last 50 years but will also look to the future, especially with the collaboration with the Rother Valley Railway, which is preparing to start groundwork on the line between Robertsbridge and Bodiam.

Gala tickets will allow passengers to travel to and from Robertsbridge via a heritage bus service.

BR Class 7 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ will haul a Robertsbridge Junction shuttle. The locomotive will be stationed at Robertsbridge throughout the weekend.

Finally, as part of the weekend, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by representatives of the KESR and RVR which will pave the way for regular services to run through to Robertsbridge Junction once the line and station and have been rebuilt and recommissioned.

“Our Anniversary Gala will be the biggest and best yet: an opportunity to celebrate all that we have achieved as a heritage railway and to look forward to a promising future.

“The prospect of reconnection to the main rail network at Robertsbridge – accessing services to and from Central London and Hastings – is within reach. It will be a game changer for us as a business, a tourist destination and an educational charity, one that we must grab with both hands.”

K&ESR General Manager Robin Coombes