MEMBERS of the British rail industry joined forces to attend a preview event on January 30 at Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane manufacturing and design facility as part of this year’s Railway 200 celebrations to commemorate two centuries of modern railways.
In a rare move, Alstom will open the rail-connected plant at Derby to the public for a family weekend from August 1-3. Branded the Greatest Gathering, a wide range of British railway vehicles, including historic steam locomotives and modern EMUs, will form a static display at the site.
At the preview event on January 30 a number of these trains were presented to attendees, who were also invited to ride on a new Alstom-built class 701 Arterio EMU that is now entering service on routes out of London for South Western Railway.
An Avanti West Coast (AWC) class 390 Pendolino was named Railway 200 at the event. The name was unveiled by AWC managing director, Andy Mellors, and Alstom’s Europe president, Gian Luca Erbacci.
“Railway 200 is not just about the development of railways in Britain,” Erbacci said. “It is also about the global rail industry and the increasing number of rail projects that we are seeing worldwide, such as the monorail vehicles for Cairo, Egypt, that have been built here in Derby, as well as the additional class 345 trains currently under construction for London’s Elizabeth Line.”
A wide range of events are planned across Britain this year as part of the Railway 200 celebrations. More details can be found at https://railway200.co.uk/
