Bicentennial anniversary

2025 marked a huge milestone for rail, with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway, which took place on 27 September 2025. The date commemorated the world’s first passenger train journey by Locomotion No. 1, which travelled the 26 miles from Darlington to Stockton in 1825.

Since then, the rail industry has continued to lead the way, not only in industrial and technological innovation, but in social progress and development. This legacy lives on today and continues to pave the way for a brighter, more sustainable future.

Read on to discover the story of rail through the years, and celebrate the rich history of the rail community.

30 years of the RPS

You may have already read that the RPS had a significant birthday recently. In October 2024, we celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the RPS. Following the privatisation of the railways in 1994, for the past 3 decades, we’ve been delighted to support members at various stages of their pension journeys, and to help to secure their futures, by investing contributions responsibly and sustainably.

We asked some of the Scheme’s members to share their experiences with the RPS. You can read all about these, and the RPS’ important role in rail and pensions, by visiting our 30^th anniversary webpage.

From then to now

As the railway continues to rapidly evolve and becomes more digitally-driven, there will be myriad new skills learned and new careers created for people from all backgrounds, that will help to contribute to a more sustainable future for us all.

While the RPS and its administrator Railpen are built on heritage, we're also focused on the future. Our collective purpose is to secure our members' future while also having a positive impact on the world they will retire into.

If you’d like to read about our approach to creating a sustainable future – known as Sustainable Ownership – visit our Sustainable Ownership Hub.

Railway pensions spearhead campaign to champion savers and drive UK economic growth

Railpen, administrator for the RPS, has joined forces with the UK's leading pension schemes. Together, the schemes are championing savers' interests and aiming to drive UK economic growth through a new Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC).

Find out more

Investing in the UK for a brighter future

The money you pay into the RPS is invested carefully by the Trustee, who work with Scheme administrator Railpen to design and deliver investment strategies across a range of sectors and markets here in the UK.

This approach secures members’ financial futures while also creating a fairer, greener world for us all to retire into.

Celebrating 200 years of local heritage

In 2050, Railpen was proud to play a leading role in Darlington’s inspiring scheme to give every primary school-aged child in the town a free ticket to Wagon Woods – the railway-themed adventure play park at Hopetown, Darlington.

What to read next...

30th anniversary

Read all about the last 30 years of the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS).

News updates

Read the latest updates from the world of pensions and see how they affect you as a member of the Scheme.

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Each of Railpen Limited (registered in England and Wales No. 2315380) and Railway Pension Investments Limited (RPIL) (Registered in England and Wales No. 1491097) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited (Registered in England and Wales No. 2934539). Registered office for each company: 7 Devonshire Square, London, EC2M 4YH. RPIL is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for some of its activities. The administration of occupational pension schemes is not a regulated activity. Full details about the extent of RPIL's authorisation and regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request.

200 years of the modern railway