With celebrations for Railway 200 starting as early as New Year’s Day 2025, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the National Railway Museum (NRM) are launching two competitions with first-class prizes to be won.

Aimed at the younger generation, children are being asked to show their ideas by drawing what they think trains, the surrounding infrastructure and staff uniforms will look like in 200 years’ time.

The competitions are split amongst two age groups, those aged 12 – 17 are being encouraged to draw the trains of the future, paying particular attention to the external and internal features of a train.

The first prize winner for 12 – 17-year-olds will be a full tour of an Azuma train including a ride in the driver’s cab of a mainline train, a turn driving the Azuma at mainline speeds on the simulator at the LNER training facility, and First Class LNER tickets will also be awarded to them and their family.

Children aged 11 and under have been given the concept of designing uniforms that railway workers might wear in the future, including for both existing roles and potential new positions arising in the future of rail travel.

The winner of this prize will have their design brought to life and tailored for them to wear by LNER’s uniform supplier, Dimensions.

They will also receive First Class LNER tickets for themselves and their family.

As part of the competition, children are to take their time when designing to think about the numerous ways in which the railway and the world may evolve over the next two centuries.

The best designs should illustrate possible practicality about how they can satisfy the needs of LNER’s staff or customers, the communities along the ECML route, and the natural world along the tracksides, will be received warmly by the selected team of expert LNER and NRM members on the judging panel.

The competition will run until Friday 13 December 2024.

2025 marks 200 years since the inaugural passenger journey on the Stockton and Darlington railway considered by many as the birth of the modern railway.

Railway 200 is a nationwide celebration taking place across the whole of the UK and in places around the globe next year, all honouring railway history and motivating a new generation to consider careers in the rail sector.

“At LNER we are always looking towards the future, exploring how our trains can be more sustainable and how we can continually improve journeys for our customers. This competition is a great opportunity to see how young people see rail evolving. We’re excited to see some brilliant designs and interesting ideas and we may even discover some future rail engineers in the making!”

Linda Wain, Engineering Director at LNER