Passengers have enjoyed a kaleidoscope of colour at 125mph as community rail partnerships and Great Western Railway (GWR) joined forces to run the annual Notting Hill ‘Carnival Train’.

The Carnival Train was organised by GWR’s REACH employee network (Recognising Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage), with support from Severnside Community Rail Partnership and Reading Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership.

GWR provided free travel for diverse groups within some of its communities to attend the famous carnival on 25 August, including several families who’ve not had the opportunity to take the train to London Paddington before.

The initiative aimed to help reduce barriers to rail travel and open opportunities to underrepresented groups, who would otherwise not have been able to attend the diverse, celebratory event.

The two CRPs and REACH worked closely with St Pauls Carnival, youth organisation ACE (Aspiration Creation Elevation) and Hype Dance Company Bristol to provide the carnival experience.

After the unveiling of a special carnival logo on the side of the train at Bristol Temple Meads, revellers boarded to enjoy music by the Plymouth-based Real Steel Band and guitarist Edson Burton MBE, performances by Hype Dance Company and an art workshop with Carol Sherman.

Last year’s Carnival Train won top prize in the Best Community Engagement category at the 2024 Community Rail Awards.

Heather Cullimore, Severnside CRP manager, said: “Carnival is an important part of cultural heritage for many of the communities in our area. We were fortunate to be part of the Carnival Train last year and families certainly had a day to remember.”

Mameri Eze, Carnival Train curator, said: “GWR is proud to celebrate inclusion and diversity and running a Carnival Train in celebration of the Caribbean culture is a perfect fit. We were excited to bring it back for its second year and invite families on board who might not have travelled by train to London before.”

Rachel Geliamassi, GWR Customer Services Director and REACH sponsor, said: “We really care about the communities we serve and this is a great way of sharing the carnival experience with them. We joined forces with a number of groups in the Bristol area to give families a train journey to London, where they partied like never before at the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival.”

Watch a video of the Carnival Train highlights here.