York's National Railway Museum secures £2.5m sponsorship for new gallery

The agreement relates to the new ‘Railway Futures Gallery’ - a key component of the museum’s Vision 2025 masterplan to revamp the attraction.

The gallery will be a multi-dimensional and interactive experience which explores and imagines 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 Railway Futures Gallery will be a key feature of Central Hall – a new building and welcome space located between the museum’s Great Hall and Station Hall.

Central Hall will be a cornerstone of Vision 2025 - the museum’s journey to transform its offer to become the World’s Railway Museum and to attract up to 1.2m visitors each year.

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. The National Railway Museum is seeking additional funding to complete the £55m Vision 2025 project.