The 2026 edition of Rail Live took place at the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre, owned by Porterbrook, in South Warwickshire on 17th & 18th June 2026.
This year’s exhibition was the first to use Britain’s first dedicated 2-mile electrified test track loop, that was formally opened with the cutting the ribbon on 4th June 2026 by the Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy of Richmond Hill. He was joined on stage by Porterbrook CEO Mary Grant and content creator Francis Bourgeois.
Porterbrook CEO, Mary Grant, said: “Long Marston is for the benefit of the whole industry. A site tailor-made for innovation that demonstrates how private capital can work hand-in-hand with Great British Railways to deliver an exceptional service to the travelling public.”
Local politicians such as Stratford-upon-Avon MP Manuella Perteghella and Long Marston District Councillor Stuart Keighley were in attendance.
Also, a first for 2026 was a direct train from London Paddington direct into the site via the new test loop, which was a HST train set supplied by ROMIC.
The Rail Live exhibition is a national and international exhibition open to 7,000+ rail professionals from all disciplines with over 200 exhibitors and 60+ expert speakers. The headline sponsors were British Steel and DXC.
The large site has an array of large railway equipment including the R200 Inspiration train put on in associate with the Railway Museum (York & Shildon), Porterbrook and other partners. There were also track repairing units, fire suppression units, freights engines and passenger DMUs.
