An exhibition promoting past and present connections to the railways has opened in the waiting room at Rye Station.

The plaques form part of a wider project delivered by Southeast Communities Rail Partnership to mark 200 years of the modern passenger railway, highlighting people, places and even animals who have a connection to the development of the railways.

The exhibition at Rye Station includes plaques with 20 historical links across East Sussex and Kent and 50 modern railway jobs to recruit the next generation of railway workers.

Funding for the project came from Southern Railway, and the research and design for the blue plaques were led by consultant historian Danny Coope from Street of Blue Plaques.

Danny said: “One of the intentions of the plaques is to show how – over their 200-year history – the railways have never simply taken us from A to B, to and from work. As the 20 plaques from these two lines show, the railways have provided employment for thousands of people including many women, especially in wartime;they’ve been a catalyst for innovation and invention in engineering and station, bridge and tunnel building; and the railways have given us opportunities for adventure and romance.”

Kevin Boorman, chair of the Marshlink CRP, said: “This has been a brilliant project, celebrating 200 years of the railways with 200 blue plaques.

“It’s a fantastic exercise and shows that we can look forward as well as looking at the past. Whilst celebrating the fantastic people of the last 200 years, we can also celebrate the jobs and people who are coming into the railways to take us forward for the next 200 years.”

Sarah Broadbent, vice-chair of the Rye Chamber of Commerce and chair of 1066 Country Marketing, said: “We have a huge amount of young people who come through Rye Station every single day to go to school here and I think it will give them a better sense of place about Rye and its history – but also about what opportunities the railway might offer for them going forward.

“I think plenty of young people mightn’t have considered the raft of career opportunities that the railway could involve.”

The exhibition at Rye Station will run for the next few months and into the early part of next year.

Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from Southeast Communities Rail Partnership via their website.