The world's first railway opened its doors in 1825, and 200 years later we're celebrating our industry’s ability to connect places, people and ideas, and how it serves to inspire new generations of aspiring talent.

At Railpen, we’re proud to share in that journey, supporting railway workers and transport police to secure their financial futures by providing leading pension schemes.

Here’s a look back at some of the key milestones over the last 200 years, and how the story of rail, transport policing and pensions come together.

Rail, transport policing and pensions: a shared journey

Stockton & Darlington Railway opened its doors on 27 September 1825, the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives. The enterprise was pioneered by Northumberland engineer George Stephenson, with the help of his son Robert, and bankrolled by Darlington wool manufacturer and Quaker, Edward Pease.

The line connected collieries near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton, facilitating the movement of coal to ships, and served as a blueprint for companies across the country and beyond. It’s also thought to be the birthplace of the British Transport Police (BTP), which was first referenced by the Stockton & Darlington Railway company in 1826, making the BTP one of the oldest police forces in the world.

Following this early success, a boom of industry in the 1840s meant there were soon hundreds of railway companies across the country, and railway employers were some of the earliest to introduce workplace pensions for their people. The first – the London & North Western Pension Scheme – was set-up in 1853, less than 20 years after the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. By 1887, 22 years before the state pension would be introduced in 1909, there were at least 10 other schemes in operation.

This reflected the railways’ pioneering approach not only to industrialisation, but also to employee welfare. According to the Pensions Archive, many of the companies who first adopted pension schemes for their staff did so out of a sense of paternalistic responsibility, wanting to ensure their long-serving staff would be cared for in their old age.

Over the years, Britain’s railways have undergone huge transformations, with nationalisation implemented through the 1947 Transport Act, introducing British Rail on 1 January 1948. The Act also saw the establishment of the BTP as we know it today.

In 1965, the administration of the British Rail pension arrangements was centralised at its head office in Darlington, offering defined benefit pensions to railway and BTP workers. This would go on to evolve into Railpen. Over the years, new schemes emerged, bringing improved benefit structures, and existing schemes were amalgamated and simplified.

The 90s saw a new era of privatisation. As part of this, the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) was established in 1994, based on the provisions of the British Rail Pension Scheme, which continues to provide retirement benefits for the industry-wide UK rail sector today. A separate scheme also continues for the BTP, and both are administered by Railpen from its Darlington and London offices.

Securing our members’ future

Here at Railpen, we’re proud to administer pension schemes for over half a million members, investing in communities and working with governments, policy-makers and regulators to advocate for our members, and secure their future.