Celebrate the birth of the railway and fundraise with us for vulnerable children on the network.
Railway 200 celebrates the birthday of our precious railways – with a range of events and activities taking place around the country. Fundraise with us!
Date: 4th March 2025 | Author: Con Enzler
To celebrate the launch of the first railway, Great British Railways are partnering with other organisations to deliver nationwide celebrations all year long, including:
As one of five charity partners, we’re proud to help preserve the memory of how the modern railway came to be and celebrate the ways it’s changed the world by connecting people, goods, and ideas.
Together with Alzheimer’s Research UK, Railway Mission, Railway Benefit Fund and the Transport Benevolent Fund, we aim to raise at least £200,000 to mark this historic occasion.
Reminiscing about the birth of the railway makes us think about our own origins, which we owe to the incredible David Maidment.
David was doing consultancy work in Bombay (modern-day Mumbai) when he saw a young girl being exploited on the railway. Horrified, he couldn’t move on from what he’d witnessed.
After getting involved with children’s charities to see how he could help, David found a gap in support – there were no support structures targeting the first few hours after a child runs away, when they’re most vulnerable to being picked up by someone who will exploit or abuse them.
So David founded Railway Children in 1995. We’ve since protected thousands of children across transport networks in India, Tanzania and the UK, giving them the crucial help they need.
For the past 30 years, Railway Children has worked hard to make the UK’s railways safer.
Children who run away from difficult situations at home, such as poverty, abuse or neglect, often use train stations to escape.
And for all the great opportunities railways have brought us, they’re also an avenue for criminal activities like county lines, which often exploit vulnerable children with promises of money, shelter and ironically, safety.
That’s why we’ve been mobilising communities to ensure safeguarding is a priority across our stations and trains, working with British Transport Police and rail companies so that no child slips through the cracks.
Thanks to our supporters and fundraising partners, we can continue to prevent exploitation before it happens, and help those young people involved in dangerous situations to get out, get help and look forward to a brighter future.
Head over to the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley, West Midlands, on 17 May for a fun Family Day with fairground rides and attractions, music and entertainment, and food and drink.
All profits from the event will go to us and four other charities: The Kaleidoscope Plus Group, Railway Benefit Fund, Young Lives vs. Cancer.
We love our railways – we want them to be safe places for everyone. Help us make that dream a reality.
If you’re thinking of incorporating fundraising into a Railway 200 event, get in touch and let’s chat about raising funds together for children in need: corporate@railwaychildren.org.uk
Railway Children will join partners from the Rooted Futures collaboration at the 2026 Skoll World Forum to lead an interactive session on family strengthening and child protection reform.
Over 200 supporters from the rail industry raised more than £60,000 at Railway Children’s Night At The Station event, spending a night in stations across the UK to protect vulnerable children at risk.
Through our flagship youth participation programme, Youth Platform, young people are shaping our training materials, influencing key decisions and ensuring the rail industry truly understand youth vulnerability.
No child wants to survive on the streets. And, through understanding and empowerment, together, we can ensure no child has to.
Julia, 24, grew up as a boy but knew, early on, that the gender she’d been born into was not who she was. Here, she talks to Youth Platform about her journey, and what she wishes she’d know as a ten-year-old boy.
Reflecting on the unique strengths different minds bring to Railway Children and the rich potential of the neurodivergent young people we support.
