Next year’s Railway 200 festival has been launched with a day of events in Darlington, the town which was one terminus of the pioneering Stockton & Darlington Railway and which saw a steam-hauled train carry members of the public as passengers for the first time on 27 September 1825. Railway 200 will be a national event throughout the United Kingdom, and is being supported by the rail industry, the government, Transport Scotland, Transport for Wales, the Northern Ireland Executive, rail and business bodies, educational institutions, civic and community groups, and many other partners, including heritage railways, Visit Britain and the Museums Association.