Train services hauled by steam locomotives will again run in 2026 between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon along the Shakespeare Line and the Chiltern Main Line.

Next year’s steam trains on the Shakespeare Line will feature an enhanced timetable with authentic 1950s Pullman dining and 1960s First Class services. The theme for the services in 2026 is “The Year of the Journey”, as travel is both an experience in itself as well as the destination.

Passengers will have four and a half hours to explore Stratford-upon-Avon, with departures from Birmingham Snow Hill, Birmingham Moor Street, and Tyseley in the morning. On some Sundays, an afternoon First Class service, with afternoon tea served throughout, will depart from Birmingham Snow Hill at 14:07 and arrive in Stratford-upon-Avon at 15:10.

In the opposite direction, from Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham, the Shakespeare Pullman will depart from Stratford-upon-Avon at 12:49 and stop to pick up at Henley-in-Arden. Passengers can enjoy a three-course Sunday lunch in original Pullman cars or a First Class afternoon tea.

The train services will operate along either the Shakespeare Line, where some stations retain original Great Western Railway architecture, or the Chiltern Main Line, and will run alongside existing services. All services are mainline certificated and fully approved by Network Rail.

The locomotives and rolling stock are supplied and maintained by Vintage Trains, to operational standards using traditional techniques and tools largely the same as those used during the steam age.

Booking is now open for the 2026 services from Vintage Trains, starting from £26.50 for Standard Class, £132.50 for Pullman, and £90.10 for First Class. The cost of Pullman and First Class period-appropriate catering served at passengers’ seats.

As well as running the Shakespeare Express, Vintage Trains runs many other tours throughout the year, and in November it recreated 1965’s ‘Farewell to Steam’ rail tour, from London Paddington to Bristol and Cheltenham.

A discount for RailAdvent Plus Gold members is available on all Vintage Trains tours.

“The Year of the Journey is about reclaiming what travel used to mean. These services show that travelling somewhere can be as valuable as arriving there. Our volunteer teams bring decades of accumulated knowledge to keeping these trains running to mainline standards. Every component, every fitting, every detail receives the attention it would have had in the steam era. That dedication is what makes these journeys authentic.”

Nick Ralls, managing director of Vintage Trains