A grant from rail operator London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has enabled a disused building to be turned into a tea room at a railway station on a branch line in Hertfordshire.

A beautifully restored tea room has been constructed out of a disused building at the single-platform station at Bricket Wood station, which is on the Abbey Line between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey.

The tea room was made possible thanks to £250,000 of funding from London Northwestern Railway and years of dedication from local volunteers and is open from 9 am to 3 pm Wednesdays to Saturdays.

Although the tea room opened earlier this year and has already attracted hundreds of visitors, it was officially opened yesterday, Sunday, 22 October, at a ceremony attended by representatives from London Northwestern Railway, the Bricket Wood Station Heritage Trust, and local dignitaries.]

Among those speaking at yesterday’s ceremony was London Northwestern Railway’s operations director Darren Ward, who at one time worked as a train driver on the Abbey Line.

The tea room was made possible by London Northwestern Railway’s “Your Community, Your Fund” scheme, where funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) is allocated by the railway and its sister company West Midlands Railway to projects across their networks. The grant also funded some informative displays about the history of the Bricket Wood site.

Cara Higgs, LNR community strategy manager, said: “The new tea room at Bricket Wood has transformed the station and the Heritage Trust has done a wonderful job in managing restoration.

“The tea room is already hugely popular and it is a perfect example of why London Northwestern Railway schemes are integral to local communities.”

David Horton, chairman of the Bricket Wood Station Heritage Trust, said: “The quality of the Edwardian-style tea room run by Cheryl Clark will assure popularity and love for the building for many years to come. I’d like to thank all of those involved in the project over the last seven years for their dedication, hard work and skill, not least my fellow Trustees, our architect, and our restoration team.

“An enormous thanks must also be extended to our industry partners Network Rail, London Northwestern Railway and the Railway Heritage Trust, without whom none of this would have been possible.”