We are delighted to have received the award for ‘Most Enhanced Railway Space’ at the Community Rail Awards 2024, which took place in Swansea on Monday 18th March.
The awards celebrate the hard work and passion of the community rail movement, which has been going for 20 years (the Abbey Line was actually one of the original Community Rail ‘pilot projects’ back in 2005).
The project to restore the station has ended up being more successful than anyone could have imagined, bringing new life back to what was a rather dingy, secluded and sometimes intimidating place, and the Tea Room is now a thriving community hub, indeed quite often demand outstrips capacity.
As ever with these things, it wouldn’t have been possible without the enthusiasm and drive of the Trustees, the members, Cheryl Clark at the Tea Room, the funding from various sources including most significantly West Midlands Trains and the Railway Heritage Trust, and the support of Network Rail and many others who have got us to this point.
Let us hope that this award may be the first of several!
