A Greater Anglia staff member who has worked at the same station in Cambridgeshire for 14 years and on the railway for 28 years was highly commended in the recent RailStaff Awards held at a national rail ceremony.

Angela Milton has worked at Shelford station near Cambridge for 14 years. She received a ‘highly commended’ award in the station staff category at the RailStaff Awards after judges had selected her from entries that came from all over the country.

Her nomination referred to her ‘encyclopaedic knowledge of the railway timetable’, that she is ‘unfailingly helpful’, and ‘provides an exceptional service to every customer that walks through the door’.

Angela was also commended for transforming Shelford station into a community hub by creating a small library, hanging a mirror in the waiting area next to the ticket office, and regularly offering fresh fruit to customers to give them a little morning pick-me-up.

Joining the railway in 1996, Angela worked in various roles in both ticket offices and the head office across the south of England. In 2000, she joined what is now Greater Anglia and worked at several locations, including March, Ely, Cambridge, and Whittlesford Parkway, before arriving at her beloved Shelford in 2009.

Angela’s can-do attitude and kind-hearted spirit provide a lifeline for many in the village, such as when COVID-19 struck she was often out and about happily talking to the area’s elderly population. She has supported animal lovers when their pet dogs and cats have gone missing close to the railway line, sometimes checking nearby areas by train after her shift finished.

She also provides the village’s local Facebook group with updates about any disruption or information about their local railway services.

Angela Milton said: “I am so pleased to have received the ‘highly commended’ award – I am very proud and this is the icing on the cake of my career.

“I am the only permanently rostered member of staff at Shelford, so it is very much my station. I love helping people and enjoy decorating the station for special events such as Christmas, Halloween, and Wimbledon.

“I often find myself being a listening ear for customers too, in between my normal duties of selling tickets and making sure everything is OK at the station. I think Shelford really is a home from home.”