Official shortlist and vote announced to choose home of Great British Railways
Posted: 5 July 2022 | Elliot Robinson (Editorial Assistant - Global Railway Review) | 1 comment
Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and York will compete in a public vote to be the home of GBR.
It has been announced that Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and York will compete for the honour of being crowned the home of Great British Railways (GBR), following a competition that drew applications from 42 towns and cities.
The public vote, which will play a crucial role in determining the chosen location, has officially opened. Members of the public can choose the town or city they think makes the best case for this prestigious honour online, with the final decision made by the Transport Secretary later this year. The central headquarters will be the heart of the rail network and will provide strategic direction for the running of GBR, as well as bringing a number of highly skilled jobs to the area.
The new GBR headquarters will be based outside of London and bring high-skilled jobs to the winning location. Local economies will be further boosted by a number of new regional headquarters across the country, putting decision-making and investment at the heart of the communities that use those railways day-to-day.
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“A big congratulations to Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle and York for reaching the final stage in the competition to find the national HQ for Great British Railways,” Andrew Haines, Leader of the Great British Railways Transition Team, said. “Since the competition was launched it has been great to see the interest from towns and cities across Britain who believe GBR’s home should be with them. I am really looking forward to the next step and seeing which town or city has the honour of being the home for GBR.”
A huge 42 cities and towns came forward to place their bids to be the home of GBR HQ. Applications were measured against 6 key criteria:
- Alignment to levelling up objectives
- Connected and easy to get to
- Opportunities for GBR
- Railway heritage and links to the network
- Value for money
- Public support.
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Related topics
High-Speed Rail, Infrastructure Developments, Passenger Experience/Satisfaction, Regulation & Legislation
Related organisations
Department for Transport (DfT), Great British Railways (GBR), Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT)
What will the reality of this HQ be?
A nice allocade to have , a new sign on a building.
It will not have a flashy new building and thousands of new jobs. Lots of people now work over TEAMS , removing the need for travel, which is good for the environment .
The public will not have the final say, this is just an expression of interest