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Merseyrail in 'World Cup of Stations' final

BBC Station manager, Sonya Hampson wears a brown jacket with a yellow Merseyrail badge and a blue blouse and lime green, grey and light grey scarf. She has long blond hair. She is standing on the station platform.BBC
Sonya Hampson, Maghull station manager, said it was "the heart of the community"

A Merseyrail station has made it through to the finals of the "World Cup of Stations" and if it wins it will be named Britain's best.

Maghull railway station in Sefton saw off competition from stations in Pitlochry in Scotland, Llandudno in Wales and Shawford in Hampshire, to get through to the finals of the competition.

It is now up against Kings Lynn station in Norfolk and Dorridge station in the West Midlands.

Station manager, Sonya Hampson, said: "We're very proud of Maghull. It's the heart of the local community."

A red brick station building has a number of posters and a sign saying 'Welcome to Maghull'. There is a covered waiting area further down the platform.
The station is up for the honour of being named Britain's best station

"We have a lot of passengers come through here daily," she added.

Ms Hampson said people also came to the station to visit The Coffee Carriage coffee shop too, since it had opened.

One of the customers in the coffee shop told the BBC the station was "just so cosy and homely and friendly".

A woman with grey hair, a patterned blue top and a grey zipped jacket sits at a table with a man with grey hair and glasses who is wearing a grey jacket. A slice of chocolate cake is on the table, along with a plant in a plant pot, a sugar bowl and a mobile phone.
These customers told the BBC they loved to visit the coffee shop at the station

Rory McLellan, the co-owner of The Coffee Carriage coffee shop, said it was "mindblowing" to know the station had made it to the competition, with the coffee shop mentioned as a factor in its success so far.

"We are in the running against some really big names. People seem really excited about it," he added.

Customers in hte Coffee Carriage coffee shop. It has wooden palates on the wall - with COFFEE in lights above the tables. Some people have menus in front of them. A woman with short blonde hair sits next to a man with grey hair. A woman in a green fleece is opposite with a man in a wax jacket. On another table a woman with brown hair has a brown bag in front of her. she's wearing black rimmed glasses and looking at the other table.
Maghull railway station. a scalloped trimmed cover overlooks the tracks.
Maghull Station is in Sefton

Another said they liked to call in after going for a walk, and they were about to tuck into a slice of rocky road cake after eating ciabatta and chips.

Merseyrail's deputy managing director, Suzanne Grant said it was "fantastic to get the recognition that Maghull deserves".

"Everyone works so hard to make this station the success it is and to have it recognised on a national stage would just be incredible," she added.

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