Railway worker changes name to 'Marylebone' in tribute to Aylesbury commuter station

A railway worker has changed their middle name to Marylebone in tribute to the busy station used by Aylesbury commuters.

To tie in with the station’s 125th anniversary Rehana Khawaja went to the deed poll to add Marylebone as her middle name. Now the Chiltern Railways staff member’s full name is Rehana Marylebone Khawaja.

Chiltern Railways has said the manager, who is approaching her 20th anniversary working with the company, would have changed her first name in tribute to the station, but was talked out of the change by her children. Also, Rehana decided that a compromise of Mary was not exciting enough.

Starting in the ticket office in 2004, Rehana has worked in a variety of frontline roles across the network, particularly at Marylebone, where she has been a dispatcher, station supervisor and station manager during her long career with Chiltern.

Chiltern Railways has confirmed she now works as a safeguarding and security manager.

She said: “The station itself is not big. But it’s got a soul. The more I explored it over my time here, the more I was falling in love with it. It really does feel like a home away from home to me.

“We know that things go wrong sometimes, and people can get delayed. But everybody there works so hard with a smile on their face. It’s got a personal touch. It’s warm and welcoming. Not every London station is like that.

“I love the building, I love the people, and I love the history of the station. When I got to manage the station, I felt like I was flying. I still feel like that when I’m there now. It’s such a huge part of my life, and now I’ll carry it with me officially, which is really exciting.”

Chiltern Railways is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the station opening. To mark the major milestone new artwork is on show at the Harewood Avenue entrance of the station.

These displays tell the story of the station over time, with historical archive material and pictures documenting the construction of the station, the challenges it faced during WW2 and the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, before exploring more modern developments.