Hi! I'm Luke
and I'm a Level Crossing Manager.
I'm here to talk about the people of the railway
over the past 200 years!
Did you know,
our workers kept the railway going during both World Wars?
Trains were used to move troops
and vital supplies across Britain and Europe.
Wilston Samuel Jackson
became the country's first black train driver in 1962.
He went on to drive the famous Flying Scotsman!
In 1966,
Asquith Xavier became the first black train guard at London Euston,
bringing an end to a ‘colour bar’ at British Rail.
British and French engineers
made a breakthrough beneath the English Channel in 1990.
Four years later, the Channel Tunnel opened
allowing train travel between both countries for the first time.
And let's not forget,
in 2020, during COVID-19, our colleagues
kept the country connected
and railways running as essential workers.
As you can see,
people on the railway
have achieved a lot over the past 200 years!
If you'd like to find out more about how we're marking
200 years of passenger rail travel,
visit railway200.co.uk