Free exhibitions for Railway 200, now open at London Liverpool Street

Network Rail is inviting passengers and station users to explore new exhibitions on railway photography and history at London Liverpool Street, Britain’s busiest station.

The exhibition space has been created as part of the nationwide celebration of 200 years of train travel, and can be found on the upper level, next to the Leon restaurant.

Created in partnership with Landscape Photographer of the Year, the photography exhibition features 17 railway images from around the country.

Network Rail has a long partnership with Landscape Photographer of the Year, and many passengers will have seen the award-winning photos on show at major mainline stations.

The new display at Liverpool Street, called Lens on the Line, is the first ever Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition to be dedicated to the railway, with the photographs having been selected from previous years of the competition.

An exhibition on the history of Liverpool Street station itself is also available to view.

This was originally created for the station’s 150th birthday last year, but has been refreshed and relaunched for Railway 200.

The exhibition tells the story of the station’s history, including the former Bishopsgate and Broad Street stations, the building of platforms 11-18, Liverpool Street’s role in the remarkable Kindertransport rescue mission and the pioneering Jazz Services of the 1920s. 

As well as celebrating the past, Railway 200 is also about inspiring the next generation of young people to choose a career in rail.

The exhibition space at Liverpool Street is completed with a series of seaside-style cut-out boards, helping to inspire young people to put themselves in the frame for a future role on the railway.

Passengers have the chance to win a station retail voucher by posting a photo on Instagram with the careers cut-out boards and tagging @networkraileastern

Additional seating is expected to be added to the exhibition area in the coming weeks, providing a quiet and comfortable place for passengers to wait.

There are hundreds of activities being held across the country for Railway 200.

The next major event on Network Rail’s Anglia route is the visit of the touring Inspiration train to Norwich and Lowestoft in August.

Made up of four themed carriages, the train promotes the past, present and future of the railway. Find out more and book tickets

Kate Snowden, head of communications for Network Rail Anglia, said: “We wanted to create a great new exhibition space where passengers and station visitors can spend a few minutes while waiting for a train or for someone to arrive.

“The photographs all give remarkable new perspectives on railway scenes, while the history exhibition will almost certainly tell you something you didn’t know about our station’s past.

“I would also encourage people to take a photo with our fun careers cut-out boards – and you might even pick up a prize.”

Charlie Waite, founder of Landscape Photographer of the Year, said: “We wanted to team up with Network Rail again to help mark this momentous railway anniversary.

“The photography exhibition perfectly showcases the work of our amazing photographers. If you have any spare time at Liverpool Street, please do seek out the exhibition space, it will be well worth it.”