A railway station, which has had a transformative impact on a former mining town, is the winner of this year’s World Cup of Stations competition, after being voted the “most life changing”.
Ashington station on the Northumberland Line was crowned champion today, after receiving 28.3% of the vote in the final round of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) competition.
It came after the community, who were rallied by local cricket star Mark Wood, Northumberland County Council and Northern staff all got behind the vote. There were 6,881 votes for Ashington overall.
Three hundred and thirty stations from around the country were entered and RDG prepared a final shortlist of 20, which included major stations like Liverpool Lime Street, London Waterloo and York, before asking passengers to vote for the most life changing.
Jacqueline Starr, chief executive officer of RDG, said: “As we celebrate 200 years of rail history, Ashington shows how investing in stations can transform lives — linking people to opportunity, pride, and possibility.
“It’s a brilliant example of how the railway continues to change Britain for the better.”
Ashington, run by Northern, is one of the country’s newest railway stations, opening in December last year when passenger services began running on the Northumberland Line for the first time in 60 years.
According to the nomination, the station and this new rail line are “providing a lifeline” to people in Ashington by reconnecting the town and “helping to drive wider regeneration”.
It also said the opening has been “transformative for the town”, providing locals with faster and more convenient public transport that allows them to travel for work, school and days out.
Ashington was once known as the world’s largest coal-mining village and has a proud sporting heritage, producing World Cup winners Jack and Bobby Charlton, as well as England cricketers Mark Wood and Steve Harmison.
Tricia Williams, Northern’s managing director, said: “I’m delighted with the result, as it shows that Ashington is having such a positive impact on people’s lives after being open for less than a year.
“It was up against some really tough competition in the final round but still managed to win the public vote.
“I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to open this station for customers in Northumberland and keep services running, day in day out.”
Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland Council, said: “We are absolutely delighted Ashington has won – but we shouldn’t be surprised as we know how good it is.
“The Northumberland Line, which currently starts or ends here, has been transformational, creating new opportunities not just for travel, but for learning, skills, tourism and employment.
“The opening of Ashington has been another real boost for the town and this will mean it has yet another World Cup Winner to be proud of.”
Ribblehead station, which is also run by Northern, finished third in the competition. The station first opened on the picturesque Settle-Carlisle railway line in 1876.
Thousands of people now travel there by train each year so they can explore the Yorkshire Dales National Park and see the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct.
The station waiting room, once used for church services, and ticket office were fully restored in 2017 by the Settle & Carlisle Railway Trust, which also created an exhibition about the history of the railway line.
This year’s World Cup of Stations competition is part of this year’s Railway 200 celebration, marking 200 years since the birth of the modern railway.
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,650 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.
