Returning for its third year, the World Cup of Stations has begun this morning, with 48 stations qualifying for the Twitter poll.

The annual tournament this year focuses on stations that play a vital role in supporting their local economy, where its getting people back to going on holiday, visiting museums, or dining out.

More than 1200 nominations were received with 250 stations nominated.

48 stations will now play in 12 playoffs before heading to the knockout stages.

The polls for the tournament will be hosted on the Rail Delivery Group Twitter account, with the action being followed using #WorldCupOfStations.

Glasgow Queen Street station was crowned champion last year.

The 48 stations qualifying this year are Aviemore, Llanbedr, Edale, Oxenholme Lake District, Eastbourne, Grange-over-Sands, Wakefield Westgate, Hastings, Nethertown, St Ives, Tenby, Bath Spa, Glasgow Queen Street, London Waterloo, Manchester Piccadilly, Coventry, Hull, Norwich, Oxford, Crewe, Stourbridge Junction, Swindon, York, London Liverpool Street, Malton, Newcastle, Stoke-On-Trent, Acocks Green, Cambridge, Huddersfield, Winchester, Brockenhurst, Buxton, Great Malvern, Linlithgow, Brighton, Cardiff Central, Liverpool Central, Vauxhall, Darlington, Glasgow Central, Leeds, Narberth, Hedge End, Plymouth, Sheffield, Wolverhampton

Maggie Hoey, ScotRail General Manager at Glasgow Queen Street station, said: “Glasgow Queen Street is playing a vital role in getting the city going after the pandemic so we’re delighted to be in the tournament again. We’ll be taking it one round at a time because at the end of the day there are no easy match ups at this level. But we certainly won’t be parking the train. We have a strong team and a great fan base and we’ll be as sick as a parrot if we don’t bring the World Cup of Stations home to Glasgow again.”

Jacqueline Starr, Chief Executive at the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Train stations up and down the country are helping local areas to recover from the pandemic by enabling people to get back to doing the things they love. Whether it’s getting to a gallery, seeing the sights or going to a restaurant, the World Cup of Stations will celebrate the stations and rail staff that local communities are relying on to recover.”

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