CREWE Railway Station is bidding for the popular vote in a competition to find the country's favourite rail interchange.

The 2021 World Cup of Stations has already seen Crewe secure a place in 12 group play-offs among 48 stations in the UK.

And the action hots up this week as the polls will be hosted on the Rail Delivery Group Twitter account for a tournament which seeks to find the station and staff who have played a big role in supporting their local area recover from the pandemic

The 12 group winners will progress to the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday's final will see which of the last four-nominated stations will be victorious at the final whistle.

Crewe, Grange-over-Sands, Liverpool Central, Manchester Piccadilly, Nethertown and Oxenholme Lake District are the North West qualifiers for this week's stage of the competition.

In its third year, the annual tournament saw over 1,200 nominations for 250 stations received in the initial phase. Now the play-offs see groups of four stations categorised by what they and the local area are well-known for; such as being the gateway for adventure, culture, history or nights out.

The Rail Delivery Group says: "Commentators and pundits alike will be watching closely to see which stations will play offensive or defensive tactics to score the most votes."

Glasgow Queen Street station was crowned champion last year and awarded the World Cup of Stations plaque.

The competition comes as stations up and down the country are welcoming more and more passengers back on board. The summer saw an uplift of leisure journeys to almost pre-pandemic levels.

Commuter rail journeys are also steadily increasing with workers going back to offices.

Chief Executive at the Rail Delivery Group Jacqueline Starr said: "Train stations up and down the country are helping local areas to recover from the pandemic by enabling people to get back to doing the things they love.

"Whether it's getting to a gallery, seeing the sights or going to a restaurant, the World Cup of Stations will celebrate the stations and rail staff that local communities are relying on to recover."

You can follow the competition on Twitter using the hashtag #WorldCupOfStations.