12 October 2020

Northern’s finest get ready to kick off with World Cup of Stations

Four of Northern’s finest are ready to go head-to-head with competitors from across Britain as the World Cup of Stations kicks off today (Monday).

Donning their boots for Northern are Hindley, Mytholmroyd, Chathill and Blaydon and, throughout the week, they’ll be battling for the right to be crowned Britain’s favourite station.

But, before any gongs can be handed out, they need your help to see off the competition as the winners are decided by online polls.

As the men’s football teams compete in the Nations League, the World Cup of Stations returns to give local communities the chance to vote their station ‘Best of British’.

Robert Nisbet, Director of Nations and Regions for the Rail Delivery Group, which is organising the competition, said: “The World Cup of Stations is about celebrating the thousands of stations across the country, many of which have been at the heart of their communities for more than a century.

“It’s also about recognising the friendly local faces who have kept key workers moving throughout the coronavirus pandemic.”

The competition will see 48 stations large and small representing each region of the country competing in a series of online polls starting today. Regional and national heats are sure to stoke rivalries. By Friday, the competition will have been whittled down to a final four with one of Britain’s 2,579 railway stations named the nation’s favourite on Friday evening.

Historian and presenter of UKTV’s “The Architecture The Railways Built” Tim Dunn said: “Station-fans, assemble: it’s time to do battle. Pick your station but pick it well – ‘cause this is a game of 48 sides and 200+ platforms, yet only one can return triumphant and take home that much-coveted trophy.

“Your local station squad needs you – so don’t stand silent in the sidings, get out of that waiting room and cheer loud on social media platforms. My tip for chuffing to the top of the championships is old-timer Glasgow Queen Street - back on the pitch with a new spring in its step for 2020."

Voting takes place each day on Twitter via the Rail Delivery Group (@RailDeliveryGrp) and will continue throughout the week until only one station remains – the best of the best.

Notes to editors

The Rail Delivery Group represents the rail industry including train operating companies and Network Rail
The structure of the competition is explained in the diagram attached
The full list of stations competing in World Cup of Stations 2020 is as follows:

Station	Region/ Nation	Year opened	Footfall 2018-19	Station owner
Bedford	East	1859	4,058,190	Govia Thameslink Railway (Thameslink)
Cambridge	East	1845	11,983,320	Greater Anglia
Kempston Hardwick	East	1905	9,692	West Midlands Trains (London Northwestern Railway)
Welwyn Garden City	East	Current site 1926	2,867,810	Govia Thameslink Railway (Great Northern)
Leicester	East Midlands	1840	5,582,286	East Midlands Railway
Nottingham	East Midlands	1848	8,004,938	East Midlands Railway
Bottesford	East Midlands	1850	63,628	East Midlands Railway
Spalding	East Midlands	1848	193,034	East Midlands Railway
Elmstead Woods	London	1904	1,213,160	Southeastern
Falconwood	London	1936	1,045,686	Southeastern
London Kings Cross	London	1852	34,645,924	Network Rail
London Waterloo	London	1848	94,192,690	Network Rail
Middlesbrough	North East	1847	1,289,866	TransPennine Express
Newcastle	North East	1850	8,913,554	London North Eastern Railway
Chathill	North East	1847	2,546	Northern
Blaydon	North East	1835	21,428	Northern
Ainsdale	North West	1848	1,016,242	Merseyrail
Crewe	North West	1837	3,305,352	Avanti West Coast
Hindley	North West	1848	294,844	Northern
Wigan North Western	North West	1838	1,683,184	Avanti West Coast
Chirk	NRA Best Station winner	1848	77,106	Transport for Wales Rail
Norwich	NRA Best Station winner	1844	4,250,834	Greater Anglia
Penrith	NRA Best Station winner	1846	592,462	Avanti West Coast
Reading	NRA Best Station winner	1840	17,080,738	Network Rail
Aberdeen	Scotland	1867	2,616,142	ScotRail
Glasgow Queen Street	Scotland	1842	17,207,208	ScotRail
Motherwell	Scotland	Current site 1885	1,386,976	ScotRail
Wemyss Bay	Scotland	1865	213,988	ScotRail
Aylesbury	South East	1863	1,235,236	Chiltern Railways
Hedge End	South East	1990	522,492	South Western Railway
Sandown	South East	1864	150,748	South Western Railway (Island Line)
Sevenoaks	South East	1868	4,376,024	Southeastern
Barnstaple	South West	1854	432,196	Great Western Railway
Bristol Temple Meads	South West	1840	11,367,652	Network Rail
Sherborne	South West	1860	210,170	South Western Railway
Worcestershire Parkway	South West	2020	n/a	Great Western Railway
Cardiff Central	Wales	1850	12,934,304	Transport for Wales Rail
Newport	Wales	1850	2,745,064	Transport for Wales Rail
Pontypridd	Wales	1840	884,132	Transport for Wales Rail
Swansea	Wales	1850	2156036	Transport for Wales Rail
Leamington Spa	West Midlands	1852	2,773,782	Chiltern Railway
Stourbridge Junction	West Midlands	Current site 1901	1,667,752	West Midlands Trains (West Midlands Railway)
Tamworth	West Midlands	1839	1,279,204	West Midlands Trains (London Northwestern Railway)
Warwick Parkway	West Midlands	2000	682,228	Chiltern Railways
Cleethorpes	Yorkshire & The Humber	1863	296,002	TransPennine Express
Huddersfield	Yorkshire & The Humber	1847	4,897,612	TransPennine Express
Hull	Yorkshire & The Humber	1847	2,356,812	TransPennine Express
Mytholmroyd	Yorkshire & The Humber	1847	197,640	Northern