Volks Railway welcomes 2025 with 'horn salute'

Staff and volunteers at the world's oldest operating electric railway are set to begin the New Year with a mass "horn salute" in East Sussex.

Volk's Electric Railway, which runs along a section of the beach in Brighton, will join other heritage train sites across the UK in sounding their whistles and horns at midday on 1 January.

The event is to mark the 200th anniversary of the invention of railways.

Brighton & Hove City Council said the salute was based on an "old tradition dating back to the days of steam".

People who want to join in the celebrations should go to Volk's Electric Railway's site at 285 Madeira Drive, Brighton, at 12:00 GMT on New Year's Day.

The heritage trains are not currently running as the site is closed over the winter. It is due to reopen at Easter.

The Volk's Electric Railway won the Heritage Railway Association's Railway of the Year award in 2024.

It celebrated its 140th birthday in 2023.

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