Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories is an animated children's television series based on The Railway Series books by Wilbert Awdry. It is the second reboot of the British children's series Thomas & Friends created by Britt Allcroft. It follows Thomas the Tank Engine as he and his friends learn about reliability and helpfulness.
Produced by Mattel Studios and Brown Bag Films, Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories was designed to appeal to appeal to both old and new fans of the Thomas franchise. It began with the half-hour television special "Really Helpful Engines", which was released throughout September 2026 alongside a relaunch of the franchise. The series will premiere in February 2027.
Premise
Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends perform railway jobs across the Island of Sodor, helping others in need and learning about being reliable and helpful.
Episodes
Production In 2025, Business Wire reported that the Thomas & Friends franchise, which began with the original Thomas & Friends television series, was "ready for a thrilling new journey that is set to delight fans old and new". In January 2026, Mattel announced a "full brand relaunch" of the franchise beginning with the series' launch in the third quarter of 2026. A new redesign of the title character Thomas was also revealed; the redesign was intended to "stay true to Thomas' core" and tested positively with parents and young children. Animation for the series is provided by Brown Bag Films while Mattel Studios serves as producer. Additional coinciding announcements, content, products, and live experiences were rolled out throughout 2026.
Casting Henry Golding is cast as the English narrator. Golding expressed feeling "lucky" to have the role, having identified with the character Henry the Green Engine—whom he shared his forename with—during his childhood, and thought himself to be in the "shadow of giants" in reference to past Thomas & Friends narrators such as Ringo Starr and Pierce Brosnan. Karla Souza narrates in the Spanish dub.
Harry Sparkes, a young boy from Harpenden, makes his voice acting debut as the voice of Thomas; Sparkes grew up watching Thomas & Friends and was excited "to be part of something which kids from the next generation will get to grow up to watch". He began voice recording at the age of 13 and kept his role a secret from his classmates for nine months by claiming to be attending physical therapy related to a foot injury. Ellie-Mae Siame, who was cast as Nia, was initially unaware of Thomas significance. She auditioned for the role in January 2026 at the age of 14 and, despite not expecting any follow-up, was offered the role of Nia soon after.
Release Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories debuted with the 30-minute television special "Really Helpful Engines", which was released on YouTube on 17 September 2026 and on Netflix on 30 September. In the United Kingdom, the special will air on 5's Milkshake! in October 2026, and the series will premiere on the same programming block in February 2027. By 23 September 2026, "Really Helpful Engines" had surpassed twomillion views on YouTube.
See also Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go Notes
References
External links