Southeast Communities Rail Partnership and the Rye Harbour Writers group are running a poetry competition celebrating all things rail travel.
The ‘Write on Track’ competition has been funded by Southern Railway as part of the celebrations to mark 200 years since the birth of the modern passenger railway.
The theme of the poetry competition is a positive experience of train travel, such as a first rail journey, memorable trip or exciting day out. Poems can be set in any era, be in any format (e.g., haiku, limerick, acrostic, etc) and should focus on people and places, rather than locomotives.
Entries should be short – around 15-20 lines at most – and will be divided into two categories: under 18s and over 18s. There will be one overall winner and two runners-up in each section, and the winning poems will be displayed as part of an exhibition in the waiting room at Rye Station in the new year.
Poems from the Rye Harbour Writers have been displayed at Rye Station over the last three years and have now been collated and printed in a special book. To further celebrate Railway 200 and promote the competition, poets from the group travelled along the Marshlink Line on Sunday 24 August handing out copies to passengers – giving away a total of 200 books.
S C Morgan, member of the Rye Harbour Writers, said: “What better way for people to express their love of railways than in the form of poetry. The book give-away was a phenomenal success. We gave out all 200 in about two hours and the passengers were so interested and wanting to talk about the book and the competition – even the guard on our first train wanted a copy!
“We look forward to receiving and reading entries from young and old.”
The closing date for entries is Friday 31 October 2025.Full details, terms and conditions and the entry form can be found here.
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from Southeast Communities Rail Partnership via their website.
Header photo courtesy of Lenka Medlik showing Rye Harbour writers S C Morgan and Jim Northover on board a Southern train as part of the Railway 200 book give-away.
