Staff 'heartbroken' at heritage railway cafe closure

Staff have said they are "heartbroken" at plans to close down a heritage railway tearoom.

The cafe at Rothley Station on the Great Central Railway (GCR), which opened in 2008 in an old coal and corn store, is due to close on Sunday.

Adrianna Wojewodzka, who works at the cafe, said she was worried about how the closure would affect regular customers, who had set up a petition to save the tearoom.

In a statement, GCR said the tearoom had been operating at a consistent loss for two years and was subsidised by other areas of the railway, which, as a not-for-profit heritage organisation, led to them making the "difficult decision" to close it.

Wojewodzka, who is one of five workers losing her job, said: "Most of the customers are like family and really good friends, that's what's making me sad.

"For some of them it's their second home, they come every single day.

"It's heartbreaking for me to see those people being really upset. Some don't have anyone else, no family or friends."

Wojewodzka, who works 20 hours as a supervisor in the cafe each week, said it was her only job and she now had to find a way of paying the bills without it.

Regular customer Steve Hayes, who has set up a petition to save the cafe, said it was an "essential part of the railway".

"People have a reason to get off the train, you can sit outside and watch the trains go by. It just seems utterly crazy," he said.

He added the cafe was a vital lifeline for some customers.

"People come for their wellbeing to meet other people they've got to know, if they didn't come here they wouldn't be getting out of their homes.

"I think the railway should be seen to be supporting these people, we just want it to carry on.

"In an unofficial way, it offers a great meeting place, there is a regular core of people who come and then get chatting to each other and they definitely come away from this cafe in a better frame of mind," Hayes said.

In a statement, GCR said: "We are saddened that, despite everyone's best efforts, we have had to make this difficult decision.

"We have a responsibility to protect the long-term future of the railway as a whole. That means, at times, making tough decisions to preserve our heritage and ensure the railway remains sustainable for generations to come."

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