From Birmingham to Long Marston in style with Vintage Trains

We have always operated a two-mile Rail Live shuttle to Honeybourne, always featuring a cutting-edge train, so the journey serves as a demonstration too in its own right - to make sure visitors can come to the show by train.

We regard rail’s sustainability as a key strength of the sector, and we have always wanted to expand rail links to make it progressively easier to visit Rail Live by train and thereby reduce the need to arrive by road.

This new venture with Vintage Trains has massively increased our catchment by rail to the northern reaches of the West Coast Main Line, plus all points south to London. Plus, of course, anywhere within a couple of hours’ rail journey from Birmingham New Street in any direction.

Meanwhile, the Chiltern Trains battery shuttle to Honeybourne makes it easy to reach Rail Live from significant chunks of the GWR network.

We are looking forward to welcoming many more Rail Live visitors by rail this year. By bearing down on car travel to the show, we can also be better neighbours to those who live around Long Marston, by hopefully reducing car-borne visitors.

It’s been a pleasure dealing with Michael Whitehouse and his team at Vintage Trains. And clearly, if this initiative is successful, both Michael and I are keen to repeat and expand it in the future. It’s only right that Britain’s biggest and most successful rail industry show should welcome its visitors by rail if at all possible.

Thanks also to Chiltern MD Richard Allan and his team for making their already-in-service HybridFLEX battery train available for the two-mile shuttle to Honeybourne, and thanks also to Network Rail for its engagement.

Nigel Harris, Managing Editor, RAIL