Brookwood was one of five finalists for Britain's station of the year after topping the South vote. Voting closed on 18 October; the winner is still to be announced.

Brookwood station is one of five stations left in the national final of this year’s World Cup of Stations. Public voting closes at 23:59 tonight, Sunday 18 October.

Updated 21 October: voting closed at 23:59 on 18 October. The Rail Delivery Group’s competition page said the winner would be revealed on Tuesday 20 October, but at 2am on 21 October it still read “the winner will be announced shortly”. We will add the result here when it is published.

The station got there by topping the South group of the Rail Delivery Group’s competition. It beat St Pancras International, South Tottenham and Bishopstone in East Sussex to reach the last five, one from each region.

Its entry is not the platforms. It is the Brookwood Reflective Garden, a memorial garden built on disused railway land behind the station, next to Brookwood Cemetery.

What the garden is

South Western Railway’s announcement describes it as the first place on its network where railway staff can be remembered with permanent memorial plaques. It opened in October 2025 and was SWR’s flagship project for Railway 200, the 2025 celebrations marking 200 years of the modern railway.

According to SWR, the garden includes:

  • trees and flowers along a winding path
  • crescent-shaped planters made from repurposed railway sleepers
  • a section of railway track donated from the nearby line
  • memorial plaques for members of the railway family

More than 30 volunteers built it. Railway staff and local residents still maintain it. SWR says the garden is open to everyone, not only railway families.

The Brookwood Reflective Garden in autumn sun, with a short section of railway track on the lawn, young trees and a path leading to the cemetery gates
The garden's section of donated railway track sits on the lawn beside the path. Photo: South Western Railway

Why Brookwood

The link between the station and the cemetery is unusual. From 1854 until 1941 the London Necropolis Railway carried coffins and mourners from London Waterloo to Brookwood Cemetery. SWR says the station and cemetery are still physically linked today, which is why the garden sits where it does.

The competition’s own entry for Brookwood says the garden turns “the station’s unique link to Brookwood Cemetery into a lasting place of reflection, belonging and community care”. This year’s theme is stations that create “connections that matter”.

Paula Aldridge, SWR’s Community Rail Manager, came up with the idea. The project took 18 months and involved Brookwood Cemetery, railway staff, station adopters, heritage groups and volunteers.

“Seeing people come together and install plaques for those who are no longer with us has been incredibly moving,” she said. “Reaching the final is fantastic recognition for everyone who helped create and continues to care for this unique space.”

Brookwood is about four miles west of Woking town centre, one stop beyond Woking on the line towards Basingstoke and Farnham. The cemetery has been in the news this year for other reasons too: we reported on its plans for 84 new mausoleum chambers.

What it means for you

  • To vote, go to the World Cup of Stations page before 23:59 tonight. Anyone can vote, not only rail users.
  • To visit the garden, it is behind Brookwood station on the cemetery side and open to all. Trains from Woking take a few minutes; see our Woking train times guide for the line.
  • Last year’s title went to Ashington in Northumberland, a station that reopened in December 2024 after 60 years without passenger trains.

We will update this page with the result once the Rail Delivery Group announces it.