Our purpose starts with people. From long‑term, place‑based investing to volunteering hours and inclusive colleague communities, we work together to strengthen the places our members live, work and retire into.
Railpen is rooted in rail
Railways create a unique collection of people and communities with a shared passion, drive and grit that's helped shape Britain over the last 200 years. This passion fuels our mission to enable hard-working railway workers save adequately for their retirement.
Since our beginnings in 1965, we’ve acted as a not-for-profit, mutual organisation with a core philosophy; to pay members’ pensions securely, affordably and sustainably. A young railway worker starting out today may not retire for many years, we therefore adopt a multi-decade approach to investments that contributes to this unique community for many years to come.
"One of the most important things that the rail industry has done over the last 200 years is create the social infrastructure that's looked after the people and their communities."
Trustee Director (RPTCL) & Non-Executive Director (Railpen)
Our charity partnership with the Railway Benefit Fund
Community is one of Railpen’s core values – we believe in the strength, resilience and connection that comes from supporting one another. Nowhere is that sense of community more powerful, or more essential, than across the UK rail industry. Every day, railway people work together to keep the country moving, from station teams and engineers to drivers and support staff. They form a tight, interdependent network built on shared purpose, trust and collaboration – the very qualities that keep the railways running.
Our partnership with the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) is a commitment to that community. For more than 165 years, RBF has been a lifeline for railway workers and their families, providing support during illness, injury, financial hardship and difficult life moments.
RBF’s belief that no railway worker should face hardship alone sits naturally alongside our own purpose: to secure our members’ future. The rail industry is built on people – their dedication, their expertise and their connection to each other.
This partnership reflects who we are: an organisation shaped by rail heritage, powered by community, and committed to the people who make the railway what it is today – and what it will become for generations to come.
Through our shared heritage and commitment to the rail industry, our partnership helps to...
Safeguard rail workers when they need it most
Support with retirement provisions including a free will writing service
Work collaboratively across rail initiatives
Celebrate the industry’s heroes who make a real difference in the rail community
Railpen is proud to sponsor the RBF Heart of Gold Awards.
Learn more about the RBFWe're committed to having a positive impact
Investment beliefs
Our investment belief system is centred on identifying opportunities that protect and grow our members’ savings, both now and in the future. We focus on strategies that support long-term value and enable us to make a positive contribution to the communities our members live and will eventually retire in.
Renewable energy
We invest in renewable energy assets because they help us deliver predictable, long term returns for our 350,000 members while also creating real world impact. These assets supply clean power to UK homes, support national decarbonisation targets and contribute positively to both local environments and wider sustainability goals.
![Caledonia Park 1[90][79]](/media/j6x0eovq/caledonia-park-1-90-79.jpg?width=476&height=267&v=1dc701bcaf6c4b0&upscale=false&format=webp)
Local communities
We work closely with the communities where we invest – including residents, charities, groups and businesses – to create jobs, strengthen local infrastructure and develop places where people can thrive. Our aim is to unlock long term prosperity for both local people and the organisations that support them.
How we're delivering social value
Railpen is one of Cambridge’s largest place-based investors, we combined our investment strategy and an inclusive approach to regeneration to deliver equitable and long-term social value, as well as providing strong returns for our members.
Our play areas and public spaces need to be places where everyone feels welcome, so we designed them in partnership with Make Space for Girls to ensure teenage girls feel valued and included. We incorporated sensory-friendly design and increased accessible public facilities through collaboration with Red2Green to support people with learning disabilities and neurodiverse needs. And we continued our work with Cam Skate integrating a fun and skateable landscape to help promote positive use of public spaces.
Our developments within Cambridge have helped generate in the region of £300m of local, social and economic value, up to 900 weeks of training and apprenticeship opportunities through construction and a minimum of 3,400 hours of volunteering.
Find out more about how we increased social value across multiple sites in Cambridge.
Empowering our people and communities
Creating an inclusive, supportive and community-driven culture
It goes beyond our impact on external communities, we also believe that fostering an inclusive internal culture is vital in helping hundreds of thousands of railway workers retire with security, choice and dignity.
We grow our team by encouraging diverse perspectives, seeking those that are driven to do things differently, and who actively share our values. We work in an ego‑free collaborative environment, where colleague‑led community groups; Pride, Women’s, Neurodiversity and Menopause, offer safe spaces that help shape policies, improve communications and nurture respect, camaraderie and kinship.
All our colleagues have three paid days a year to volunteer for UK Registered charities and good causes that are close to their hearts. Over the years, Railpen has delivered thousands of volunteering hours to local charities, community groups and not‑for‑profit organisations.
Railpen listens, nurtures and empowers our colleagues. We believe that this provides the bedrock for making better decisions for the benefit of our members.
Championing diversity, equity and inclusion
Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) is at the heart of everything we do. We’re focused on building a workplace where everyone feels included, valued for their differences, and empowered to be their true selves.
Proud to support the Big Rail Diversity Challenge
We’re proud to support The Big Rail Diversity Challenge to raise awareness of why this matters. Together, we can champion inclusion and ensure the rail sector thrives through the strength of diverse perspectives.
More on the Big Rail Diversity Challenge…
Join our Railpen communityLiving our values in the community
See how our colleagues bring our values to life by supporting charities and community groups across the UK.
Opening up experiences for local children
Railpen is proud to back Darlington’s inspiring Golden Ticket initiative, giving every primary school-aged child in the town free access to Wagon Woods at Hopetown. This community-wide effort ensures cost is never a barrier to enjoying play, learning, and local heritage.
Marking 200 years of railway history
Railpen proudly supported Darlington’s 200th anniversary of the modern railway by sponsoring three new heritage plaques across the town. Each plaque celebrates a key figure who helped shape Britain’s railway story – Sir vincent Raven, William Kitching and Mary Simpson. These plaques are part of a town-wide initiative led by Darlington MP Lola McEvoy.
Honouring everyday rail heroes
From standout teams to inspiring individuals, RBF's Heart of Gold Awards remind us that heroism often happens behind the scenes. Stories of resilience, kindness and commitment filled the room at the last annual event – including the rail hero category winner – Chris, who humbly dedicated his award to those he has supported along the way.
Our people, united by purpose
In Stooperdale, Darlington, where our rail heritage runs deep, our Railpen colleagues came together as one community around our shared purpose: securing our members' future. This gathering strengthened our commitment to collaboration, integrity, and delivering meaningful outcomes for our organisation and the people we serve.
Railpen’s local, national and global impact
Responsible for over £34bn in assets, we’ve invested £1bn in UK energy infrastructure spanning solar farms, wind farms, biomass and energy storage. Our development in the city of Cambridge, Botanic Place, is first of its kind to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ design-stage score, setting a new benchmark for sustainable, future-ready offices.
Behind all this is our commitment to support the railway communities. To provide good member outcomes for everyday working people, to celebrate their achievements and remind us all of the legacy that this unique community provides.
And to ensure that our members’ pensions are kept on track, we empower our colleagues to use their voice, by giving them all the tools, training and support they need to influence our industry and speak out when members’ futures are at stake. We drive positive change for our own members, as well as pension scheme members in the UK and globally – by championing better practices, influencing policy, and shaping a more sustainable pension landscape with market-leading innovation.
Discover our latest policy thinking and insights
Influencing policy for savers
In 2025, Railpen launched the Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC) – a major collaborative initiative representing £150bn in assets and 11 million savers – to promote effective governance standards as a driver of sustainable economic growth in the UK and to protect the long-term interests of UK savers.