Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Westminster Hall

16:30

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the heritage festival of the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. This month we celebrate a pivotal moment in our history: the first steam-powered passenger train, which marked the birth of public rail travel as we know it and had a profound impact on the social, cultural and industrial heritage of Britain and countries around the world.

Two hundred years ago, on 26 September 1825, the world’s first passenger locomotive was put on the tracks outside the world’s first passenger train station: Aycliffe Lane, now Heighington station, in my constituency. Locomotion No. 1, designed by Newcastle engineer George Stephenson, was about to make history. On the following day, when the train left Shildon in the Bishop Auckland constituency, steam-hauled passenger railways began and passenger rail was born. More than 450 passengers in converted coal wagons passed through my hometown of Newton Aycliffe, then through Darlington, where the train was greeted by 10,000 people, before reaching the outskirts of Stockton around half past 3 in the afternoon. All modern railways, across the globe, trace their beginnings back to that journey and that incredible part of our heritage.

I want to set out, with enormous pride, the impact the event went on to have around the world; the way it transformed our society, culture and leisure time; and how we will celebrate the heritage of our groundbreaking railway with a major cultural festival this year. The contribution of that first journey was enormous. It endowed the north-east and our country with a rich heritage of innovation, inventiveness and ingenuity. It seems strange to think it now, but, because the Stockton and Darlington railway brought passenger rail into being for the first time, it led to the invention of many things that we have long taken for granted.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

I cannot claim that the Stockton and Darlington railway went anywhere near my Carlisle constituency, but I cannot let this moment pass without celebrating Carlisle and north Cumbria’s role in the heritage of that line. Indeed, the engine that was first used on that marvellous line was Locomotion No. 1, created—as my hon. Friend says—by the Stephenson company. The company went on to create the iconic Stephenson’s Rocket, which, hon. Members might wish to know, finished its days in service on Lord Carlisle’s line in my constituency. I invite my hon. Friend to celebrate not only the glorious Stockton and Darlington line, but the inventiveness of our heritage in our railway industry.

[Alan Strickland]

I agree with my hon. Friend. She is a doughty champion for the city of Carlisle and has an astonishing knack of linking all subjects back to Carlisle’s rich heritage. We indeed celebrate its crucial contribution in this debate. Carlisle is lucky to have such a good advocate.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. He is right to underline the heritage festival of the Stockton and Darlington railway. When he mentions what he is celebrating in his constituency, I think of my constituency, where we have a great culture and heritage that started in 1606 with a market town. Does the hon. Member agree that it is important that we celebrate the individual culture and heritage of local areas and communities, understanding that someone who does not know where they come from can never know where they are going?

[Alan Strickland]

The hon. Member is absolutely right that it is only by understanding the rich social and cultural heritage across our United Kingdom that we can look properly at and understand the future. I understand he is also a doughty champion for his constituency, from time to time.

The Stockton and Darlington railway made a great difference. The world’s first railway carriage—quite rightly called “Experiment”—was brought into being. Thankfully, railway companies have slightly upgraded their carriages since the coal wagons were used. Station waiting rooms had to be invented because passengers did not want to wait in the rain; without their invention, David Lean could never have filmed “Brief Encounter”. Railway bridges such as Skerne bridge in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy), which is the oldest continuously used railway bridge in the world; signalling systems; railway pubs including one where passengers’ pints were pulled by the first woman to work for a railway company, Mary Simpson; and of course iron tracks fixed to railway sleepers to a set gauge—they all had to be invented for the first time by the railway. Each of those elements of travel, used around the globe, traces its evolution to this extraordinary piece of history.

This could not have just happened anywhere; it could only have happened in the north-east. Our region had the key ingredients for this railway revolution: coal under our feet to power the engines; world-leading inventors and engineers, such as George Stephenson and his son Robert, who spent 10 years experimenting with tracks, locomotives and all the parts that make up the railway; and dynamic entrepreneurs, such as local Quaker Edward Pease, whose investment in this groundbreaking technology was critical to its success.

It is difficult to overstate how important that first journey was. Most importantly, it was proof of concept. It showed that rail travel could work for passengers, not just goods, and by connecting people, raw materials, markets and ports it helped unleash the industrial revolution as never before. It also changed how we all live. Changing the way people were connected to each other fundamentally altered Britain socially, culturally and economically. It had a huge impact on all aspects of our lives.

For the first time, working-class people could afford to travel far from the town or village they were born in, powering social mobility. For the first time, people could commute to work, with the railway allowing businesses to diversify and expand their workforces. For the first time, working people could travel for their holidays. Saltburn, in the Redcar constituency, became one of the world’s first tourist resorts, with a hotel that trains pulled up to directly, so that passengers and their luggage could move seamlessly from carriage to room. That first journey might well have led to the world’s first package holiday, when a pub landlord in Shildon in the Bishop Auckland constituency sold return tickets to Stockton races, which included the price of race admission.

Passenger rail also transformed sport, leisure and the way we come together in society. In 1882, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway put on special trains to transport 2,000 fans to the FA cup semi-final in Huddersfield. Did you know, Mr Stringer, that it is the early railways we have to thank for modern timekeeping? As villages, towns and cities became more connected, it no longer made sense for each place to keep its own local time based on the sun’s position in the sky. That was found to be slightly impractical. For reliable railway timetables to be created, the UK embraced a single unified standard time across the whole country, which we had never done before. The event genuinely changed the world for ever, bringing us into the modern age.

We have a proud history of celebrating our region and country getting the world on track 200 years ago. On the 100th anniversary, local schoolchildren were given specially made medals. For the 150th celebrations, quite extraordinarily, special cans were distributed containing steam from Locomotion No. 1. I am not clear how that worked.

It is brilliant that we have been celebrating the 200th anniversary across the country with the Railway 200 campaign. In the north-east, the S&DR200 festival includes more than 40 events from film screenings to steam train galas. I am delighted it is being supported by the Arts Council, the Heritage Fund, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport—for which I thank the Minister—and Transport Ministers including Lord Hendy, a renowned steam train buff whom I met earlier.

I am also incredibly proud that a newly renovated replica of Locomotion No. 1 and its passenger carriage will travel along sections of the original line, including Skerne bridge in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington, where the Hopetown museum has been refurbished. My hon. Friend is working hard to include the local community, including by developing a blue plaque scheme to celebrate the railway heritage of that proud town.

It is also fitting that the train will pass through Heighington station, where this all began. Our history of innovative rail manufacturing continues just a few hundred yards away at the world-class Hitachi train factory, for which I was proud to campaign to secure a bright future. Thanks to Hitachi and the fantastic campaign by local volunteers of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, we have managed to secure the funds needed to renovate the historic station to its former glory and restore the building, which is of such national and global importance. As part of the festival, families will be able to come together to see what those cheering crowds saw 200 years ago. Perhaps, without knowing it, our ancestors witnessed a critical moment in the history of the way we live.

It is with shared pride that I note that this incredible journey began not just in Britain, but in the constituencies of many of my colleagues who are here today. I hope that Members from all parties will join me in celebrating the marking of this incredible piece of our heritage, as well as the rich contribution that the events of 1825 made to our society, our shared culture and the way we live, work and spend our leisure time.

My final message is this: if people are interested in this incredible history, whether they live in the United Kingdom or abroad, they should come and see us. Travel to the north-east for the huge range of events taking place throughout September. Let us make sure that the heritage festival celebrating the 200th anniversary of the incredible Stockton and Darlington railway is an enormous success.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate. I am not going to impose a time limit, but I am going to call the Front-Bench speakers to respond to the debate from 5.10 pm. With half an hour, the four people standing can work out how much time they have.

16:41

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Ind)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) for introducing the debate so well, and for bringing alive the past 200 years of the railway.

Since steam filled the air on 27 September 1825, as the first passenger rail between Stockton and Darlington ran on that line, rail has transformed the world. It has transformed the economy, our society and livelihoods—lives and leisure—and all that was to follow captured the global imagination. To mark its 150th anniversary, in 1975, the National Railway Museum opened in my city of York: a national museum outside London, fought for by Jennie Lee, the Labour Minister at the time.

In parallel to the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations, we in York will also be opening the station hall on 26 September. I welcome visitors old and new to see the improvements, the new interpretation in the gallery and the new gallery roof. I thank the Labour Government for all that they have done to support the National Railway Museum. New artefacts, such as the wreath that adorned Queen Victoria’s funeral locomotive, will be on display. There will also be a beautifully restored WHSmith book stall kiosk from Waterloo station, which I am really looking forward to seeing, as my grandfather started his working life selling newspapers at the WHSmith at North Shields station. The old favourite royal trains will also return in their full glory.

I am sure that visitors will want to flock to the National Railway Museum to join the celebrations on the celebratory weekend—on their way, of course, to Shildon, Darlington and Stockton. The National Railway Museum’s sister museum, Locomotion, in Shildon, the world’s first railway town, will also be part of the commemorations. Locomotion will hit its 21st birthday at the same time, and will host the Inspiration train. For those yet to make it to these parts, the Railway 200 Inspiration train will be their destination. It will be travelling throughout the country, led in partnership by the National Railway Museum, as its carriages tell our story of the history of rail, engage all in science with its mobile Wonderlab and spark a flame for people to consider a career on our great railways.

I also want to thank the Labour Government for what is about to come in York. That is, of course, the new gallery. Spades will be going in the ground in January, as part of our ongoing 200, 201 or 202 years of celebration. The revamped museum will tell a far better story of the history of rail—past, present and future—enabling budding engineers to explore their heritage while learning the science behind rail, and all engaging with science, technology, engineering and maths through the Wonderlab.

I would not steal the history of the Stockton to Darlington line, but the revolution that was born there was scaled and exported because of my predecessor George Hudson’s vision for the railways. Two hundred years on, York is the centre of digital and advanced rail, and because of our shared history it is the global centre for the future of rail. Stephenson’s Rocket will soon take pride of place at the National Railway Museum, alongside the Mallard and the Flying Scotsman. Given that we hold such incredible assets in our city, there will be a shared enthusiasm—from young and old, locally and globally—to come to York to the world’s leading rail museum. Of course, we will encourage them to go up the line to the north-east as well.

This is not about just our past, but our future. We must see the modal shift to rail, on which I know the Transport team is working so hard. We need the decarbonisation and the economic power that rail can bring to all our communities. As that happens, we must build that incredible, aspiring industry that we saw in our country 200 years ago and that we will celebrate in York on the weekend of the 26th to the 28th. Five thousand people now work for the future of digital and advanced rail in our city. Our past tells a story of our future. That is why I really welcome the opportunity to celebrate Railway 200.

16:46

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) on securing this wonderful debate. I hope, Mr Stringer, that you will indulge a speech that not only celebrates our transport heritage but takes a look at our transport future.

Some 200 years ago, on 27 September 1825, a small steam locomotive named Locomotion No.1 set off from Shildon, went through Darlington and reached Stockton-on-Tees. What seemed an eccentric experiment at first became the spark that ignited the modern world. That line—the Stockton and Darlington railway—was the first public railway to carry passengers and freight by steam. That journey began on the banks of the Tees; it transformed not only Britain, but every corner of the globe. In a few years the line reached the mouth of the Tees, and within a generation a small farmstead called Middlesbrough, with a population of 25 people, became an industrial giant—“the infant Hercules”, as Gladstone called it.

The town’s first passenger station opened in 1846 and the present station, dating from 1877, has now been restored, its undercroft part of a new heritage quarter. From the 1880s came the great goods yards and sidings: Middlesbrough goods yard, the dockside yards, the Eston and South Bank sidings feeding the furnaces; then South Bank yard, Cargo Fleet sidings and finally Tees yard in Thornaby—the great marshalling hub for Teesside freight.

Here, rail was never just about moving people; it fuelled an industrial revolution. Durham coal fed the network—carried to Stockton and Middlesbrough to power London’s homes, factories and ships. As iron and steelworks rose at South Tees, Middlesbrough and Redcar, the railway was their lifeblood. Rails, bridges, engines, ships—the very fabric of the modern world—were forged there and carried by train from that spot. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is no longer in his place, having woven Northern Ireland into the debate, was absolutely right: people have to know their own heritage. What I have described brought about the immigration of thousands and thousands of people from Ireland, who came to work in those industries.

The Stockton and Darlington railway was not just a local line, but the first step in a global transformation—the marriage of steam, steel and energy that built the modern age. We on Teesside can say, with great pride, that it all began with us. In celebrating our heritage, I hope that at the end of this month I will be able join the Boulby Flyer, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer), as it runs from Middlesbrough to Saltburn—I will give notice of my visit. I may also visit one of the exhibitions planned at Eaglescliffe station, the one I use so regularly, on the original railway’s route.

If the first half of our story is pride, the second half must be honesty. Although our ancestors led the world, our region is today in some respects being left behind. Look at the line that still runs from Darlington, through Middlesbrough, to Saltburn. Nearly two centuries on, it still has not been electrified. Passengers and freight alike rely on ageing diesel trains. While other regions benefit from faster, cleaner and more reliable services, Teesside is stuck with the infrastructure of yesterday, not tomorrow. It is a bitter irony that the birthplace of the railway revolution now finds itself waiting on the platform while others speed ahead. Electrification is not just about convenience. It means efficiency; cutting emissions; freight trains hauling more without choking our air; faster, quieter and more reliable passenger services; and connecting Teesside businesses and communities to a modern rail network worthy of the 21st century.

In 2024, the Tees Valley combined authority announced that it would use part of the £1 billion of funding devolved to it to develop a business case for electrification from Northallerton to Saltburn, but the Conservatives’ record is clear. In 2017, when I was shadow Transport Secretary, they scrapped electrification in Wales, the east midlands and the north-west. Again and again promises are made and then abandoned. That is why, whether it is urged by this House’s Transport Committee, the RMT, the Railway Industry Association or the Campaign for Better Transport, I believe that a Labour Government must deliver a long-term, rolling programme of rail electrification—not piecemeal promises or short-term fixes, but a serious national commitment. At home on Teesside, that must mean electrifying the line from Northallerton and Darlington through to Saltburn.

Two hundred years ago, George Stephenson and Edward Pease had the vision to imagine a future that others thought impossible. They did not wait: they built, they acted, and they changed the world. We owe it to their memory, and to the generations to come, to show the same ambition today, so let us celebrate the courage of 1825 not with nostalgia alone, but with action. Let us put Teesside once again at the forefront of Britain’s future as it was at the forefront of Britain’s past. From Stockton to Darlington and from Middlesbrough to Saltburn, the railway that carried coal and steel now carries our pride, our history and our hope. Let us make sure that it carries our future as well.

16:52

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Gateshead South) (Lab)]

It is always great to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in this wonderful and very important debate, for which I must thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland), who secured it. We have heard some great speeches already.

The Stockton and Darlington railway is an incredible part of our regional transport history. As we have heard, it was the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives. I am thrilled that we are now celebrating 200 years since its first public journey. The international heritage festival taking place across County Durham and Tees Valley is an excellent opportunity to display our region’s contribution not just to the country, but worldwide.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

This summer, Derby celebrated Railway 200 in style, bringing 40,000 people together in just three days to mark the Greatest Gathering, which was the largest collection of new and heritage railway stock ever assembled anywhere in the world and included Locomotion No. 1. From Darlington to Derby, will my hon. Friend acknowledge our incredible volunteers who are working hard in every part of the United Kingdom to mark Railway 200? It has been a roaring success so far, and I am sure it will be for the rest of the year. Does she agree that the celebrations are not just looking at the past, but inspiring the next generation to carry on our great railway heritage into the future?

[Mrs Hodgson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that excellent intervention. He raised very important points. Yes, while looking to the past, it is important to look to the future. He spoke also about the importance of volunteers in our heritage railways across the country. Without those volunteers, those railways would be long gone. He made a very important point in mentioning the volunteers.

Last year in Great Britain, surface rail alone accounted for 9,848—just under 10,000—miles of track and more than 1.6 billion passenger rail journeys, showing its continued significance nationwide. The Government understand the importance of our railways, and they are working harder to create more journeys and to reduce delays. I support their plans to bring our railways finally back into public ownership.

I would like to mention my own constituency of Washington and Gateshead South, which is home to the Bowes railway, which opened just four short months later on 17 January 1826. It will be celebrating its bicentennial next year. The earliest section of the Bowes railway was designed by George Stephenson, who, as we know, also helped to design the Stockton and Darlington railway. The Bowes railway is the world’s only operational preserved standard-gauge cable railway system, which used stationary steam engines and gravity to move coal wagons from the pits in Durham to the River Tyne. It is still there to this day, as the Bowes Railway Museum is proudly in Springwell village in my constituency.

I also want to take this opportunity to discuss the Leamside line—you didn’t think you were going to get away without me mentioning that one, did you, Mr Stringer? It begins at Ferryhill in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor and passes through Washington, on to Gateshead and South Tyneside to Pelaw. The first section of the Leamside line opened in 1838 and served our communities until it was closed to passengers in 1964, under the Beeching cuts. It was mothballed in the 1990s. As chair of the Leamside line all-party parliamentary group, I have campaigned, with the help of my hon. Friend, to reopen the line and to bring trains to Washington, which is one of the largest towns in the UK without a direct rail link.

I am delighted that, following our Government’s spending review in June, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has announced that the first sections of the Leamside line will be reopened as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro, linking stations at Pelaw and South Hylton via Washington. That will include three new stations at Follingsby in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) and Washington North and Washington South in my constituency. I will continue to campaign to reopen the full 21-mile line connecting our constituencies, taking pressure off the east coast main line and helping commuters get to employers in my constituency, such as, to name a few, Nissan, BAE systems and Rolls-Royce. There are many more.

Rail continues to be of vital importance as we seek to grow our local economy and look for solutions to climate change. The heritage festival is an incredible opportunity to celebrate our region’s history, as well as the future of our trains, as they continue to serve an essential part of our lives.

16:58

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) on securing this important debate.

Today, as colleagues have said, we mark 200 years since the Stockton and Darlington railway opened; it was the first passenger railway in the world, and the Quaker philanthropist Edward Pease, father of the railways, had a slogan for the railway:

“At private risk for public service”.

It was a radical experiment to fund engineer George Stephenson and his 18-year-old son Robert to use a steam engine instead of horses to power Locomotion No. 1, and it worked. As we have heard in this debate, 10,000 people turned out to welcome its launch, and the success of the railway soon spread across Britain and around the world. Goods could move quickly and cheaply, and so could people.

Stockton’s exports and economy grew, and soon the town’s storage staithes could not keep up with the amount of coal, so in the summer of 1828, Edward’s son Joseph started looking for new land. On 2 August 1828, he surveyed the small hamlet of Middlesbrough. He recorded in his diary that he could see the day when

“the bare fields will be covered with a busy multitude, and numerous vessels crowding to the banks denoting a busy seaport”.

He bought the farmland in 1829, with a population of 25, as my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) has just said; over the next 20 years, it would grow to over 7,000. Industrial Teesside was born.

Sadly, 200 years on, our public transport across Teesside is no longer world leading. Our bus routes have been cut back and our trains do not meet the needs of our communities. That is why the Labour Government have given the Tees Valley Mayor a £1 billion Transport for City Regions settlement to start sorting things out.

As part of that work, I would like to see new passenger railways spread across our region again, such as along the Boulby line, which has had a station sitting empty at Brotton since 1960, even though freight still runs three times a day along the line. Previous work by Arup in 2018 and by SYSTRA in 2023, commissioned by Redcar and Cleveland borough council, found that restoring passenger trains to the line would be feasible without substantial investment in infrastructure, and that diverting an existing service from Saltburn to service the villages in Skelton, Brotton and Loftus would represent value for money and be a net generator of revenue for the rail network.

The combined authority has committed £1 million of those TCR funds to a feasibility study, and I hope that the Mayor will do that work—

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

Order. Has the hon. Gentleman finished?

[Luke Myer]

indicated dissent.

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

I say to the hon. Gentleman that the motion that we are considering is relatively narrowly drawn; it is about the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington railway. I am following his speech and chain of logic but ask him to come back to the motion.

[Luke Myer]

Thank you, Chair.

As part of the S&DR200 celebrations, the Boulby line is being reopened, so passengers can enjoy that heritage rail, because it is an important part of Teesside’s infrastructure and still services the mines in our region today. With respect, Chair, it is part of the heritage of Teesside’s rail infrastructure, and I would greatly like to see it restored.

There is no reason that our region cannot again lead the world in public transport. Just as we did 200 years ago, we have the ideas and the can-do attitude to take things forward. Let us make that happen; let us get our region back on track once again.

17:01

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer, and I thank the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) for securing this important debate.

Railways are a hugely important part of our national story, and an important factor in the economic success of Britain and the region that we are discussing today. The development of the Stockton and Darlington railway was one of Britain’s greatest industrial feats. It pioneered the creation of the modern railway system, allowing people to travel faster than before in a carriage that was wonderfully named “Experiment.”

The existence of the Stockton and Darlington railway helped the development of steam trains, including Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1, which was the first locomotive to travel on the railway. There followed some of the most incredible feats of engineering, including Stephenson’s Rocket, the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard. It is a testament to the enduring legacy of the Stockton and Darlington railway that last year—200 years later, and despite all the subsequent technological advancements —Brits took over 1.7 billion railway journeys. It is right that we pay homage to where it all began, on the original Stockton and Darlington railway, which served as a catalyst for a rail revolution across the country.

As we reflect on the legacy of Stockton and Darlington, we must also ensure that rail continues to deliver for passengers in the 21st century. Today, unfortunately, rail passengers do not always receive the service they deserve, after years of failed privatisation. Services are unreliable and subject to cancellations and delays. When they do run, they are often uncomfortably overcrowded. By contrast, when I travel on my local heritage railway, it is never delayed; it is run by volunteers, but always runs on time. The current situation is particularly challenging to accept on the mainline railways, given the fare rises that we all have to put up with. Meanwhile, fare dodging regularly goes unpunished, as Conservative leadership hopefuls are often keen to point out.

The former Conservative Government planned to use this anniversary to encourage people to take up roles in the railway industry, through education, through tourism, and through the celebration of railway workers and enthusiasts. I hope that the current Government will seize on this anniversary as an opportunity to deliver better railways for passengers, with expanded connectivity, particularly to the north of England, which has had a very raw deal over a very long period. I know that, from having travelled on rail in the north of England. But let us face it—on any rail journeys that are not to or from London, we tend to get a poor deal.

The Government must be far more proactive in the sanctioning of those train operators who cannot provide a high-quality service. Of course, some of them will cease to exist when Great British Railways comes fully on stream, but we should not forget—

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

Order. The hon. Member heard what I said to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer). If he could stick to the motion before us, I would be grateful; sanctioning current rail operators is not directly relevant to the motion.

[Max Wilkinson]

Thank you, Mr Stringer. Then I shall skip over my anecdote about the excellent Pullin’s Bakery fruit cake served on Great Western Railway services—I hope colleagues in the north also enjoy such delicacies.

I have spent many hours on heritage railways, and I believe they give us the important points we need to focus on for railways today. The Stockton and Darlington railway that we are discussing today revolutionised our country 200 years ago. Railways still play a central role in our modern economy, but for too long passengers have felt that they are not getting the services they deserve. The best tribute we could pay to George Stephenson and the legacy of the Stockton and Darlington railway is to modernise our current infrastructure, bring fares down and expand connectivity. In celebrating 200 years of the Stockton and Darlington railway, let us invoke the spirit of George Stephenson and seek to deliver exactly that.

17:06

[Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) for securing this debate and for speaking with such knowledge and passion, not only about the Stockton and Darlington railway but about railways more generally and the impact they have had on this country.

The Stockton and Darlington railway was the first step in the great railway invention and expansion that shaped our country and the world. Britain pioneered steam locomotion and railways, and we have heard how George Stephenson set the global standard. Railways in turn powered the industrial revolution by enabling the efficient movement of raw materials, goods and people.

Within just a few years our country had established a railway network that grew throughout the country; what was once a three-day trip to remote areas by horse and cart became, within a few years, a journey of a few hours by train. We take it for granted today in the age of the internet and artificial intelligence, but it is hard to overstate just how transformative the railways were in the 19th century—and it all started in Stockton and Darlington.

Beyond the railways’ economic impact, they transformed the social fabric of our country. They opened the countryside to the urban population, offering access to fresh air and green spaces. Rail travel also revolutionised tourism. Affordable fares made trips possible for working-class families, reshaping the character of seaside towns such as those in my constituency on the Isle of Wight.

Heritage railways act as living museums that preserve the rich legacy of our railways, and they will be doing so up and down the country—an essential part of the 200th anniversary celebrations. The central and most important part of that will be the cultural festival in the constituency of the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor. While discussing heritage railways, I must mention the contribution of the heritage railway in my constituency, the Isle of Wight steam railway at Havenstreet, which welcomes over 110,000 visitors annually. It is not just a tourist destination; it is an accredited Arts Council England museum and educational charity, employing 35 staff and enriching our local economy—particularly the visitor economy—and our community.

Heritage railways contribute £600 million to the UK economy and welcome 13 million visitors each year. None of that would be possible without the extraordinary contribution of volunteers, and I am sure volunteers will play a very significant role in the upcoming cultural festival. Across the country, thousands of dedicated individuals give their time and expertise not only to restore locomotives and maintain rolling stock, but to guide visitors and passengers. On the Isle of Wight steam railway alone, we have a team of up to 500 volunteers, and it is one of the largest volunteer organisations on the island.

In celebrating the 200th anniversary of our railways, we must do more to remove barriers to volunteers and offer more flexible opportunities that encourage people both young and old to volunteer. Recently, my noble Friend Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay identified just such a barrier to volunteering and sought to remove it during consideration of the Employment Rights Bill in the other place. An obsolete 1920s law governing the employment of young people has survived in later legislation. It means that, strictly speaking, it is not legal for heritage railways to give volunteering opportunities to anyone under the age of 16. My noble Friend was able to amend the Bill in the other place on a cross-party basis to remove that outdated provision in existing legislation. I hope very much that when the Bill comes back to the Commons, as part of the 200th anniversary celebrations and in that spirit, the Government will allow that amendment to stand.

I close by again congratulating the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor and by celebrating the story of Britain’s railways. The Stockton and Darlington railway was the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives. Its opening was pioneering proof of the role not only of steam, but of railway, as a means of public transport that continues to this day. It is only fitting that we all join in honouring 200 years of innovation, connection and progress.

[Graham Stringer (in the Chair)]

Minister, I suspect that you will have plenty of time to leave space for the mover of the motion to respond.

17:11

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

I will indeed. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) on securing this important debate and shining a light on the Stockton and Darlington Railway 200. The festival is a wonderful celebration of the birth of modern railway in the region, which transformed how the world traded, travelled and communicated.

In September 1825, the first passenger railway journey in the world took place between Stockton and Darlington. News reports at the time spoke of thousands of people lining the tracks to witness this small steam train as it travelled the 27 miles between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton. The journey led to the modern railway as we know it. My hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor spoke powerfully about its transformative impact, whether that be the package holiday or modern timekeeping. My hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) spoke about the link between industry, in particular coal—something I know very well from my constituency—and the huge role it played in developing local areas. The Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson), rightly highlighted that we take connectivity for granted although it changed the social fabric of our country forever.

In just a few weeks’ time, we will mark 200 years since that momentous day. The Stockton and Darlington 200 festival will stage a re-enactment of that first steam journey, with a replica of Locomotion No.1 travelling along the historical line. The Government are proud to have supported the festival and the wider Railway 200 festival, which has partner events across the country. Railways transformed this country and the world, and it is right that we celebrate our past contribution to rail as well as looking to the future.

I take the opportunity to pay tribute to the local MPs, my hon. Friends the Members for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth), for Darlington (Lola McEvoy) and for Stockton North (Chris McDonald), and to the Members from slightly further afield, but present today in Westminster Hall—my hon. Friends the Members for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer). They have all been working hard together to promote and support this anniversary over many months, and have also successfully campaigned to save the modern Hitachi train factory, which sits next to the original historical line.

The international Stockton and Darlington Railway 200, which celebrates the region’s unique contribution to rail history, has been a great success across 2025 so far. This Government are proud to support the festival, showcasing Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor’s outstanding contribution to the development of the modern railway.

Funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and its arm’s length bodies is central to helping communities to celebrate their proud heritage and the contribution they have made to this country. I am pleased to say that the Stockton and Darlington Railway 200 festival has benefited from a range of heritage and arts funding sponsors that have helped to support the area in developing the infrastructure and events to commemorate this important anniversary.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has a long history of supporting the UK’s outstanding rail heritage, and has invested more than £100 million in heritage rail projects since 1994. In 2022, the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded a grant of more than £3 million to Darlington borough council for its Stockton and Darlington railway project. The five-year project developed the Darlington railway quarter, creating a new railway attraction called Hopetown, which opened in July last year. The brilliant new museum and surrounding heritage buildings celebrate the past, present and future of rail travel engineering genius.

Hopetown was funded by a total investment of more than £35 million, with additional sponsors including Historic England, Arts Council England and the Railway Heritage Fund. I was pleased to see that Hopetown won the Heritage Railway Association Railway 200 special award earlier this year. It is a great example of the power of heritage to revitalise areas. Hopetown, of course, is the original name of that area of Darlington at the time of the industrial boom 200 years ago. I am glad to hear that the project is a great source of pride for my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington; I know it is one of the most significant heritage museums and attractions in the north-east.

Historic England, along with other arm’s length bodies of DCMS, has been heavily involved in supporting the north-east as it approaches the anniversary. In 2018, it established the Stockton and Darlington railway action zone to help to rejuvenate and restore the historical railway, and to realise its potential to become a major heritage attraction and visitor destination in the approach to 2025. Running from 2018 to 2023, with a total investment of more than £2.3 million from Historic England and numerous other sponsors, that fantastic project laid the essential foundations for the Stockton and Darlington Railway 200 bicentenary celebrations and the railway line’s longer-term management as a world-class visitor attraction.

On the Railway 200 festival more widely, over the past year, the Government have been working with Network Rail and partners across the country to help to deliver the partner-led initiative that celebrates the 200th anniversary of modern rail. Railway 200 explores how rail shaped Britain and the world. As this Government transform our railway system today, bringing the railways back into public ownership, as my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South spoke about, Railway 200 will also look to the future, encouraging more people to take the train and inviting the next generation of pioneering talent to join the railway industry and become the history makers of tomorrow.

Alongside the fantastic work going into the Stockton and Darlington festival, other railway museums have been supported as part of the Railway 200 festival. The National Rail Museum in York is a key regional sponsored museum, and part of the Science Museum Group. The hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) rightly paid tribute to Jennie Lee for her campaigning work on that. Events will be taking place across the country, and we heard a really good example from my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker).

Much of the Railway 200 activity is being delivered through arm’s length bodies, many of which benefit from Government support. I look forward to the culmination of the bicentenary celebrations in late September, and I know the Rail Minister will join the events in the north-east marking 200 years since the first passenger journey—an historic moment that changed travel forever. I am familiar with the 1920s law that the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East mentioned; I will reflect his comments to the relevant Department.

I conclude by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor for his personal contribution to railway heritage, and his support for the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. I pay tribute to them for their tireless campaigning. I end by putting on record a huge thanks to all the volunteers up and down the country who support heritage railways for all the work they do, as we mark this very important 200-year anniversary.

17:18

[Alan Strickland]

I thank all hon. Members from across the House who took part in the debate today. I thank the Minister for her very generous summary and for acknowledging colleagues who worked so hard on this anniversary, and I thank the Opposition spokespeople for their excellent speeches. It is wonderful to hear that across the country, there is real pride in our railway heritage and in the heritage lines that continue today: the Bowes railway line, the Isle of Wight steam railway and the Boulby line. There is also the Leamside line, which my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) has campaigned tirelessly to turn from history to reality.

[Andy McDonald]

This has been a really interesting exploration of our fantastic rail heritage, and we have celebrated many elements of it. Since his and my part of the world was the birthplace of the railway and we see the advances that have been made over 200 years—that fantastic progress showcased at the National Railway Museum in York—does my hon. Friend share with me an ambition for our part of the world, and the entire country, to make another seismic shift in the advancement of our transport, to be inspired by that heritage experience and to take it forward for the next 100 or 200 years, for the benefit of our people and economy?

[Alan Strickland]

I thank my hon. Friend for his incredibly powerful points. He was quite right to say earlier that the north-east has been a cradle of railway ingenuity for many years, and we want to recapture that spirit. We want to recapture high-quality manufacturing in the area—many of us here have worked hard to save the Hitachi rail factory. The link between the past and our future, a bright future that we need to fight hard for, is incredibly important as shown in the contributions of my hon. Friends the Members for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) about how Middlesbrough grew from hamlet to city, thanks to the arrival of rail.

We also heard about the historical link to Carlisle and the important role that the city has played, which shows just how quickly rail spread across the north of England. I am sure we will all be visiting York to see the new gallery and the exciting developments at the National Railway Museum. My hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) made important points about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the link to the modern world that we can draw from that industrial heritage.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) mentioned, Derby has already had an extraordinary festival this year: 40,000 attendees is clearly the number to beat, and we will do our best in the north-east. It is fantastic that this year, and particularly this summer, there have been fantastic festivals around the United Kingdom to celebrate this important part of our history. I thank all hon. Members for taking part in this debate, and say, “See you in the north-east!”.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the heritage festival of the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

17:21

Sitting adjourned.