Wigan North Western makes shortlist in public vote to find Britain’s favourite railway station

People in the town are being urged to show their support for the station in the competition which is an online poll that opens next week.

It will see the stations across the country compete to be crowned winner of the 2020 World Cup of Stations.

The World Cup of Stations, returning for its second year, will give Wiganers a chance to cheer on the Avanti West Coast station as it competes in the top-flight of social media polling.

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.

A Cinderella story unfolded last year when Huddersfield saw off competition from some of the country’s biggest and busiest stations. Wigan North Western will look to repeat the story as they start out in the regional group stages against their North West rivals, including another Avanti West Coast station, Crewe.

Throughout the pandemic, the team at Wigan North Western have supported the lcommunity by arranging collections of food and toiletries for local NHS staff and care workers. Some of the team also volunteered their spare time to help the NHS and British Red Cross.

Lee Braham, Avanti West Coast Station manager at Wigan North Western, said: “We are looking forward to going up against our rivals in the North West and hope we can go far and win.

“To be shortlisted is great as we’ve been doing some superb work at Wigan North Western over the last few months in what has been a really challenging time. During lockdown the team made sure our new waiting room facilities were completed so key workers could use them while travelling on our services.

“We’ve also been holding collections for NHS staff and care workers. It has been a team effort. We know it’s going to be a close competition against our colleagues at Crewe!”

The competition comes as stations up and down the country welcomes more people back to the railway supporting communities and businesses as Britain continues to learn to live with COVID-19.

Station staff are working hard to ensure stations can play their full role supporting Britain’s recovery from Covid, keeping people connected and boosting regional economies.

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 pandemic. As Britain gets moving again, their role in supporting local businesses and spreading opportunity is more important than ever.”

Post-match analysis will take place at the conclusion of each day of voting led by a bevy of railway experts and station enthusiasts.

Follow the action and vote for the station you want to win by following @raildeliverygrp or by searching for the hashtag #WorldCupOfStations.

For more information visit the competition page: https://bigplanbigchanges.co.uk/big-changes/world-cup-of-stations-2020