The Postal Museum to revamp Mail Rail with a new accessible experience

New works to significantly improve the accessibility of its Mail Rail exhibition and ride to begin in 2025.

Concept design of the museum’s planned immersive projection space (c) Hayley Sharpe

Enhancing Mail Rail is an ambitious £1m project taking place ahead of the 100-year anniversary of Mail Rail and 10-year anniversary of the museum in 2027.

Central to the project is a new immersive projection space, which will be installed in Mail Rail’s original train Depot in late 2025. This will provide an audiovisual experience for visitors who do not want to or cannot ride on the Mail Rail trains. These trains journey through underground tunnels originally designed to transport the post, which presents significant access barriers.

The museum will also launch an accessible multimedia guide featuring British Sign Language (BSL) videos interpreting the ride’s audio for d/Deaf visitors. A new on-board audio narrative, played within the train’s carriages, will include audio description segments to improve the experience for blind and partially sighted visitors.

The ride’s visuals will be improved with new projection technology to enhance the quality of the two immersive shows on the platform stops on the route. A new show will be produced for Platform 1, featuring recollections from staff who worked on Mail Rail as well as insights into the role the railway played at the heart of a global communication network.

The lead project funder is the Post Office Remembrance Fellowship. Their generous support will enable the museum to tell new stories and ensure they are relevant and accessible to all visitors.

Capital works are being supported by Arts Council England, thanks to its Government-funded Capital Investment Programme, announced in May 2024.

Glasgow-based digital media and software studio ISO Design have been appointed to produce the new film and audio content developed as part of the project, whilst DJW Projects will be responsible for installing the new audiovisual hardware, including projectors and media servers. Marcon Fit-out, based in Antrim, Northern Ireland, will construct the new immersive projection space.

Alan Bealby, Chair of Post Office Remembrance Fellowship

“We’re delighted to support The Postal Museum to improve access to their Mail Rail ride and to share the stories of the GPO workers that kept the mail moving through its 100-year operation. An important part of PORF’s history is the work the Fellowship delivered providing practical help and support for their fellow workers, particularly those impacted by the First and Second World Wars. We look forward to continuing that legacy with this project to open Mail Rail’s history up to a wider audiences.

Laura Wright, CEO of The Postal Museum said:

“We’ve long wanted to improve the accessibility of Mail Rail for a much wider audience, particularly for those who are unable to ride our unique underground experience. We’re hugely grateful that through the support of the Post Office Remembrance Fellowship and Arts Council England, Enhancing Mail Rail will deliver significant improvements. Crucially, this generous support enables us to develop and deliver these upgrades in close partnership with the audiences they will serve.”


Works will be carried out during 2025 and there will be minimal impact of the museum’s operation. Please check the website for the latest updates on opening hours and ticketing.