Trainbow is the nickname that is given to the LGBT marketing concept by train operating companies, initially in the United Kingdom, of covering their trains and carriages in rainbows or pride flags. The word is a portmanteau of the words "train" and "rainbow".
History The trainbow was started by Transport for London in June 2015 by decorating two DLR B92 trains for Pride in London, after previously doing it on a Routemaster bus and a London taxi under the phrase "Ride with Pride". After the success of the interest in rainbow-decorated light rail carriages, other train operating companies started decorating trains in rainbow colours and LGBT symbols, notably starting in 2018. Later, the hashtag #trainbow came out on Twitter as a reference to these rainbow-coloured trains.
Notable trainbows include a GWR Class 800 IET Alan Turing, serial number 800008, which has rainbow stripes on the front, the Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino Progress, serial number 390119, the first one that is covered from end-to-end in pride colours, and the LNER Class 801 Azuma Together, serial number 801226, which has multiple stripes based on various pride flags.
, the only British train operating companies (TOCs) that have not had trainbows are: Northern, Transport for Wales Rail, Hull Trains, Merseyrail, Grand Central, Caledonian Sleeper and Eurostar. When enquired, TfW Rail has said it has no plans to introduce trainbows on its train in the near future. In May 2024, West Midlands Trains decorated a Class 730 Aventra (serial number 730018), while Cross Country introduced a trainbow on one of its Class 220 Voyager (serial number 220005) and a Class 170 Turbostar (serial number 170618) as part of Birmingham Pride.
Trainbows have since expanded to other nations, starting in 2019, when France's SNCF wrapped a TGV inOui Euroduplex locomotive in rainbow colours to celebrate 50 years of Pride. In June 2022, as part of the celebration of Dublin Pride, Ireland's Iarnród Éireann wrapped a CIÉ 8100 Class DART commuter train (serial number 8315). In Belgium, in June 2023, a number of SNCB carriages of a SNCB Class 08 Desiro (serial number AM08 8586), had rainbow wrappings celebrating IDAHOBIT and Brussels Pride.
Germany has a number of trains which have been wrapped with rainbow decals. It first started in July 2021 with an ICE 3 nicknamed Rainbow Train (serial number 403 504-4), having its famous red stripe replaced with a rainbow stripe to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Deutsche Bahn's LGBT+ employee network, railbow.
Trainbows were immortalised in miniature form in August 2023 when Hornby Railways began selling a miniature version of the GWR's Alan Turing train.
While NI Railways wrapped two NIR Class 3000 units with trainbows (serial numbers 3006 and 3021) in April 2020, they are dedicated to the local health service instead of LGBT causes as part of a COVID-19-related marketing campaign called #ChaseTheRainbow.
Trainbow units
TrainImageUnit numberOperatorDateNameRef. Trainbow trains (UK)Class 158 Express Sprinter158 773East Midlands RailwayClass 170 Turbostar170 501September 2024Let’s Roll with Pride170 618CrossCountryMay 2024170 103September 2025Journey with PrideClass 220 Voyager220 005CrossCountryMay 2024Class 334 Coradia Juniper334 006ScotRail22 June 2021Class 345 Aventra345 055Elizabeth line30 June 2023Every Story MattersClass 378 Capitalstar378 205London Overground26 June 2023Every Story MattersClass 390 Pendolino390 119Avanti West Coast25 August 2020ProgressClass 395 Javelin395 012Southeastern23 January 2021Class 444 Desiro444 019South Western Railway27 March 2023Class 700 Desiro City700 155Thameslink18 July 2019Class 720 Aventra720 506Greater Anglia20 November 2023Class 730/0 Landmark730 018West Midlands Trains23 May 2024Hurst StreetClass 755 FLIRT755 421Greater Anglia4 April 2024Class 800 IET800 008Great Western Railway7 June 2018Alan TuringClass 801 Azuma801 226London North Eastern Railway1 June 2023TogetherClass 803803 003Lumo16 June 2023Pride Partnerships Trainbow trains (EU)
Influence on other transport Since the creation of trainbows, other forms of transport in the UK, including regional buses, and even a Loganair Embraer 145 plane, have marked Pride.
References
External links
Trainline - Trainbows: the Pride rainbow trains of 2020 The Progress Train - Trainbow Tracker Dunn, Tim Why trainbows matter Modern Railways - July 2022