Great Western Railway will send the Captain Tom Centennial on an epic journey as part of the Captain Tom 100 challenge.

The Intercity Express Train 800025 will make 100 stopsat stations across the GWR network in just over 40 hours, covering nearly 1,500 miles.

The Captain Tom Centennial will start passenger service from London Paddington at 6.37am on Friday April 30, which would have been his 101st birthday, taking in routes to Penzance, Swansea, Hereford and Bristol Temple Meads.

GWR's head of communications Dan Panes said: “What makes the Captain Tom Centennial so unique is the geographical challenge. Normally our Class 800 trains wouldn’t travel down to the south west but we wanted to do our bit to ensure Captain Tom’s legacy lives on and reaches all of the network.

“We were delighted to name a train in his honour last April following requests from both colleagues and customers. We’re hoping people will enjoy following the progress of the ‘Captain Tom Centennial’ and donate in the name of Captain Tom.”

On April 6 last year, Captain Tom set out round his garden to thank the nation’s NHS heroes. One hundred laps later, he’d raised £38.9 million for the NHS Covid-19 appeal.

His simple message of hope – ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’ – inspired millions around the world and brought comfort and joy to many during the pandemic.

Captain Tom died on February 2..

Captain Sir Tom’s daughter and The Captain Tom Foundation's co-founder Hannah Ingram-Moore, said: “My father would have simply loved the idea of the Captain Tom Centennial train making an epic journey as part of this special event.

"He was very proud to leave behind the growing legacy of his foundation and would have really enjoyed watching people across the country uniting to have fun and inspire hope with their Captain Tom 100 challenges. It’s going to be a very special few days.”

Visit captaintom.org/captain-tom-100