Eden Valley residents are being urged to get behind their local railway station in its bid to scoop a second national award.

Penrith railway station has launched its bid to score a trophy in the World Cup of Stations, an online competition which sees stations from across the country compete to be crowned the nation’s favourite.

Returning for its second year, the competition will give the people of Penrith and Cumbria a chance to cheer on the Avanti West Coast station as it competes in the top-flight of social media polling.

The competition will see 48 stations large and small representing each region of the country competing in a series of online polls.

By Friday, the competition will have been whittled down to a final four with one of Britain’s 2,579 railway stations named the nation’s favourite on Friday evening.

Penrith’s shortlist for the competition follows its recent triumph at the National Rail Awards, where it was named Medium Station of the Year.

Judges commented that Penrith “has it all” and praised the work of the Avanti West Coast Team at Penrith as community ambassadors.

Michael Byrne, Avanti West Coast Station Manager at Penrith, said: “Our close-knit community are really important to us and are a proud bunch.

“They see us as the beating heart of Penrith. We would love to repeat our success at the National Rail Awards and hope the people of Cumbria vote for us, so we can go as far as possible in this competition and hopefully get our hands on that trophy.

“It would mean so much to us in what has been a really challenging year.”

The competition comes as stations up and down the country welcomes more people back to the railway supporting communities and local businesses as Britain continues to learn to live with Covid-19.

Station staff are working hard to ensure stations can play their full role supporting Britain’s recovery from Covid, keeping people connected and boosting regional economies.

Robert Nisbet, director of nations and regions for the Rail Delivery Group, which is organising the competition, said: “The World Cup of Stations is about celebrating the thousands of stations across the country many of which have been at the heart of their communities for more than a century.

“It’s also about recognising the friendly local faces who have kept key workers moving throughout the pandemic.

“As Britain gets moving again, their role in supporting local businesses and spreading opportunity is more important than ever.”