Irlam station crowned Station of the Year after World Cup of Stations win
Irlam station in Greater Manchester has won the World Cup of Stations 2026 and been crowned Station of the Year, with volunteers credited for turning a derelict building into a community hub.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Irlam station has been crowned Station of the Year after winning the World Cup of Stations 2026. The suburban station in Salford, Greater Manchester, took the title after a week of public campaigning and voting. Voters described it as a place where railway heritage and community life come together. The contest, despite its name, featured only British stations. The chief judge said Irlam beat competition that included St Pancras and Leeds.
The station opened in 1873 on the Manchester to Liverpool line. Its Victorian signal box is one of the few remaining in the country. About a decade ago the site was derelict. The station building had been empty for years, with one report saying chickens roosted inside. A local philanthropist helped buy it for the community, and volunteers set about restoring it.
The building now houses a cafe and bistro, a heritage display, a museum and a bar. It also hosts art exhibitions, children's heritage days, weddings and pub quizzes. A steam locomotive is on display in the car park, and the station has hanging baskets and heritage signage. Volunteers and staff were credited with making it a destination as well as a transport stop.
The Friends of Irlam station campaigned for votes, handing out leaflets on the platform and messaging friends in Australia, Spain and Dubai. One volunteer said the award meant everything to the team and thanked the community for its support. Another said the station was a place people visited for company, food and drink rather than only to catch a train.
Reports gave differing annual passenger figures. One put the number at about 350,000 a year. Another said 240,000 rail travellers used the station each year. The final result was decided by public vote, with one report putting the winning total at around 5,000 votes, about seven times the number of people who use the station on a typical day. The chief judge said the station was a strong example of Victorian railway architecture brought back to life for community use.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Irlam won the World Cup of Stations 2026 title, also reported as Train Station of the Year, after public voting, with voters citing its railway heritage and community life. | ||
| Only on one channel | ||
| About 350,000 people use Irlam station each year. | Not reported by Channel 5 | |
| Irlam is a suburban town in the city of Salford. | Not reported by ITV | |
| Irlam station was built in 1873 on the Manchester to Liverpool line. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV |
| Only British stations take part in the World Cup of Stations. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by ITV |
| The station building was derelict for 25 years before being transformed in 2015. | Not reported by Channel 5 | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This bulletin gave the result a short, upbeat final-item treatment. It focused on the public vote and the judges' description of Irlam as a place where heritage and community life meet, with little detail on the station's history or restoration.
- “After a week of campaigning and public voting, Irlam won the World Cup of Stations 2026 title.”
- “Voters said it was a station where railway heritage and community life come together.”
The lunchtime report sent a reporter to Irlam and treated the win as a community success story. It emphasised the volunteers, the restored station building and the range of uses that have made the station a local hub.
- “With the cafe heritage display and art exhibition volunteers have turned a once derelict station building into a thriving community hub and now it's been voted station of the year in a UK-wide competition.”
- “This was completely derelict for 25 years but in 2015 it was totally transformed.”
- “About 350,000 people use this station a year”
This report gave the win a fuller feature treatment, mixing railway history with the community campaign. It highlighted the Victorian signal box, the volunteer restoration and the station's cafe as a destination in its own right.
- “Built in 1873 on the Manchester Liverpool line, fast forward to today and it's just beaten 150 other stations voted for by the public to be crowned Station of the Year.”
- “Incredibly, some 10 years ago, this site was derelict, but Dave and a team of volunteers have restored its heritage, making it a hub for the whole community.”
- “Inside, there's a thriving cafe which has made Irlam a station destination for the 240,000 rail travellers who used each year.”
The evening bulletin made the win its closing item and stressed the scale of the public vote and the station's transformation. It added the detail that only British stations entered the contest and noted the local philanthropist who helped buy the building.
- “Irlam's won the World Cup of Stations as it's called, even though it's only British ones that take part, with around 5,000 votes”
- “Twelve years ago the station building was derelict with chickens roosting inside, but it's been transformed into a thriving cafe and bistro after a local philanthropist helped buy it for the community.”
- “This suburban commuter station has become a destination in itself.”
Who was on air
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- 13:49 BST
- 19:11 BST
David and Joan, volunteers
ITV Evening News · Tue 20 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
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