The National Railway Museum is steaming ahead thanks to a £2.5m sponsorship deal for its new ‘Railway Futures Gallery.’

The sponsorship comes from Porterbrook, who own a quarter of the country’s rolling stock and employs 150 staff.

The museum says the gallery will be a key component of its Vision 2025 Masterplan.

The donation is one of the largest the museum has received to date and it comes several years after central government gave £18.5million towards museum expansion in 2019.

The Railway Futures Gallery promises a multi-dimension and interactive experience, with it imagining and exploring the role of the railways in the transport system of tomorrow.

Planned to open in 2025 to coincide with the museum’s 50th birthday, the gallery will be a key feature of Central Hall – a new building approved for between the museum’s Great Hall and Station Hall.

Derby-based Porterbrook is noted for delivering new technologies, such as battery, hybrid and hydrogen powered trains.

The partnership builds on a decade long relationship and reflects a shared vision between the National Railway Museum and Porterbrook on how sustainability, innovation and digital technologies can and will shape the railway of the future. 

Furthermore, both organisations are strongly committed to promoting the STEM agenda and helping empower future generations through science, technology, engineering and mathematics to grow a dynamic railway for the 21st century.

Mary Grant, CEO of Porterbrook said: “The National Railway Museum plays a hugely important role in curating rail’s history and heritage while articulating a vision and ambition for its future.

“Porterbrook is at the forefront of innovations which are shaping the railway and we are delighted to support the museum’s Railway Futures Gallery to help inspire the railwaymen and railwaywomen of tomorrow.”

Judith McNicol, Director of the National Railway Museum said: “The new Railway Futures Gallery is a key part of the museum’s Vision 2025 masterplan and through a mix of fixed and changing displays, an immersive media-led experience and on-gallery programming, we will showcase the most exciting engineering projects and highlight the role of innovation on the railway. Thank you to Porterbrook for its generous support.”

The final gallery name will be confirmed at a later date once a process of audience testing has been complete. ‘Railway Futures: The Porterbrook Gallery’ is the current full working title.

Vision 2025 is a £55m transformation of the National Railway Museum in York and Locomotion in Shildon, in a five-year journey to become the World’s Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum is seeking additional funding to complete its Vision 2025 project.

The vision is part of the museum’s wider regeneration plans, whose details can be found at:  https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/2025.