A unique coffee shop has boosted the station’s chances of being named the nation’s best
A Merseyside railway station is in the running to be named the best station in the UK thanks to the efforts of a couple of coffee lovers. The World Cup of Stations competition takes place from October 14 to 18, involving 48 stations from across the country. In 2024, the competition is focused on celebrating the variety of businesses found in railway stations.
Maghull station is in the running to be named the best in the UK. In March this year, an artisan cafe opened at the station that has given the area a major boost. Coffee Carriage is the second cafe opened by local businessmen Rory McLellan and Craig Reeves.
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When they spoke to the Echo earlier this year, Rory and Craig said: “We want to create a space for the community to meet and relax, a hub of sorts’. When I was a child the spot to go was the train station, which also had a shop. It was kind of normal to go to the station and have a coffee. Everyone from the area would visit, even if they weren’t hopping onto a train.”
Rory and Craig are hopeful they can build support for Maghull being named the nation’s best. Maghull will be up against the best stations in the North West, Manchester Victoria, Oxenholme and Carlislie.
Speaking about the nomination, Suzanne Grant, Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy Managing Director of Merseyrail said: “Maghull station has been at the heart of the community it serves for over 175 years. We are all rightly proud of our station.”
“Our team here at Maghull are very much part of the community and this is reflected in the exceptional level of customer service we provide”.
“Since the Coffee Carriage opened our customers have told us that it has really added something to our community, not only does it serve some really tasty food and drinks, but it provides a place to meet, chat and come together”
“I’d ask that everyone in the community takes a moment to visit our website on October 16 and vote for Maghull to win the World Cup of stations. It’s really important that if the station reaches the semi-finals and the national final that everyone votes on all three days, to give the station the best chance of success.”
Rory McLellan, Co-owner of Coffee Carriage said: “We are blown away with the support we have had from the local community since we opened at Maghull. To find out that this has led to the station being nominated for the World Cup of Stations, with a chance to be named the best station in the UK, is amazing. I hope that everyone that can, backs the fantastic station team and us here at Coffee Carriage and votes for Maghull over the three days.” You can get more information on the competition on the Merseyrail website.