{"id":258322,"date":"2025-07-29T00:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=180499"},"modified":"2025-07-29T00:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:56:00","slug":"railway-prepares-to-welcome-thousands-to-derby-rail-jamboree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=258322","title":{"rendered":"Railway prepares to welcome thousands to Derby rail jamboree"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As a once-in-a-generation celebration of rail heritage and innovation prepares to open its gates, the East Midlands rail network is gearing up to get thousands of visitors safely to and from The Greatest Gathering<\/em>.<\/p>\n

From Friday 1 to Sunday 3 August, Alstom\u2019s historic Derby Litchurch Lane Works will host over 12,000 guests daily for a landmark celebration of rail\u2019s past, present, and future. With Derby station set to be a keystone of many journeys, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway and Alstom are working together to ensure smooth journeys for eventgoers throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n

The sold-out event will showcase an extraordinary collection of historic and modern trains, with CrossCountry proudly featured in the Railway Family zone alongside fellow train operators.<\/p>\n

Ben Simkin, CrossCountry\u2019s regional director for the East Midlands and East Anglia, said: <\/strong>\u201cThe Greatest Gathering is a unique celebration of our industry, and we\u2019re proud to play our part in making it a success. With thousands expected to travel by train, we\u2019re working closely with our partners to ensure everyone arrives safely and enjoys a seamless experience from station to site.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also thrilled to be part of the Railway Family zone, where our colleagues will be on hand to share what makes CrossCountry special and connect with rail enthusiasts from across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

To support the crowds, extra staff will be on hand at Derby station and other key interchanges, with safety and customer service plans developed in collaboration with Network Rail, British Transport Police, and event organisers.<\/p>\n

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Experience Director at East Midlands Railway, said: <\/strong>\u201cThe Greatest Gathering is a truly special event for Derby and the wider rail community, and we\u2019re thrilled to welcome thousands of visitors to the city and to Derby station. It\u2019s a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the past, present and future of the railway in a place that has played such a central role in its development.<\/p>\n

“To help everyone enjoy the day safely and comfortably, we\u2019re asking visitors to follow our travel tips, use the signed walking routes, expect busy services and consider arriving early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alstom’s\u00a0The Greatest Gathering<\/em>\u00a0 forms part of celebrations for Railway 200 – the nationwide commemoration marking 200 years since the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825.<\/p>\n

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Andy Butters, Alstom’s managing director of Derby Litchurch Lane Works, said: <\/strong>“We\u2019re incredibly proud to open the gates of our Litchurch Lane Works to the public for The Greatest Gathering. Our site has been at the heart of British rail innovation for generations, and it\u2019s a privilege to welcome thousands of visitors to celebrate Railway 200 with the world’s largest-ever display of historic and modern trains.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelivering a successful event of this scale takes true collaboration, and we\u2019re working hand in hand with partners across Derby to ensure a memorable experience for everyone.”<\/p>\n

Image credit: Cross Country Trains<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As a once-in-a-generation celebration of rail heritage and innovation prepares to open its gates, the East Midlands rail network is gearing up to get thousands of visitors safely to and from\u00a0The Greatest Gathering. From Friday 1 to Sunday 3 August, Alstom\u2019s historic Derby Litchurch Lane Works will host over 12,000 guests daily for a landmark [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,16016,913,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","category-train-operating-companies","category-travel","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=258322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258323,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258322\/revisions\/258323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=258322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=258322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=258322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}