Surrey station reaches 'World Cup' final

A Surrey train station which recently revitalised its local environment has been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2026 "World Cup of Stations".

Brookwood station, near Woking, has made it to a shortlist of five finalists at this year's competition after volunteers transformed unused railway land into a memorial garden.

Yvonne Craven, a volunteer at the garden, said she was "astonished" when she found out about the shortlisting.

"I thought it must be some sort of joke," she added.

Craven said that the garden, which forms part of a wider cemetery, had become a special place after being "neglected for many years" .

"People really appreciate it," she said. "It is a little slice of peace".

"There's so much nature in the cemetery, with deer and birds."

Craven said that Brookwood village developed around the station because of the cemetery.

"Coffins were [brought] down from London when [the city] became too full," she added.

Landscape architect Geoff Ward said the nomination was a "wonderful achievement".

"It is a reflection of all the hard work that everybody's put into this."

He added the team of volunteers had been wonderful as they had kept the garden alive through a "brutal summer".

The memorial garden - an initiative spearheaded by South Western Railway - contains plaques and monuments to deceased railway workers.

It is a space "where one can sit and contemplate the history of the site and its future legacy", added Ward.

Following over 150 nominations from the public, contest organiser Rail Delivery Group said a judging panel selected stations whose stories show how the railway brings people and places together.

Public voting, which ran from 12 to 18 October, will decide the winner.

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