Derby announced as winning location for Great British Railways headquarters
Derby has been announced as the winning location for the Great British Railways headquarters.
The Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, confirmed that the East Midlands city would be home to the headquarters of the new public body responsible for running the rail network across the UK.
The city has fought off competition from other shortlisted locations including Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York.
It scored the highest in a six-week public vote, with over 5,000 votes between Derby and the undisclosed second place city.
The Department for Transport said: "Derby came top of all six excellent locations in both the rigorous assessment process and the public vote. Their application demonstrated strong links to the wider network, well-established connections with the industry, supply chain and customers, as well as an extensive local cluster of private sector rail businesses."
Derby is already home to the UK's largest train factory - owned by Alstom - where around 2,000 people are employed.
It's also a centre for manufacturing, with both Rolls Royce and Toyota major employers in the area.
Councillor Chris Poulter, Leader of Derby City Council, said he's thrilled that Derby's rich railway heritage has been recognised:
“We're absolutely thrilled that Derby has been selected to become the home of Great British Railways. This result is a testament to the hard work of our team, alongside our key rail and city partners based across Derby - we couldn't have done it without them.
“Rail heritage is at the heart of our city and for this to be recognised by Government is a fantastic achievement. The investment we’ll see from this significant move will be huge, not only just for Derby but for levelling up across the whole of the wider East Midlands.
“We have a rich history of being the only city in the UK to have manufactured rolling stock continuously since 1840, so I'm thrilled that Derby's heritage is being recognised in this defining way. We can’t wait to see what this momentous move will mean for Derby and its citizens in the future.”
Great British Railways will be the new public body responsible for running the network across the UK.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: "Among an exceptional list of shortlisted applicants, Derby scored highest in the expression-of-interest stage of the competition, which analysed its suitability against six published criteria: levelling up, connectivity, opportunities for GBR, value for money, heritage and public support.
"It also scored highest in the six-week public vote, attracting 45,600 votes, more than 5,000 ahead of the second placed location in a total vote of 205,000.
"Derby will become the heart of Great Britain's rail industry, bringing together track and train, as well as revenue and cost.
"This means we will finally treat the railway as the whole system it should be rather than a web of disparate interests that it's become."
What is Great British Railways?
Great British Railways will be a semi-independent body responsible for running the railways, replacing Network Rail and parts of the Department for Transport.
It will replace Network Rail as the operator of rail infrastructure across all of Great Britain (excluding some Valley Lines in Wales and some Merseyrail lines).
It will also control the contracting of passenger train services, the setting of fares and timetables, and the collection of fare revenue.
What will it mean for Derby?
It's unclear at this stage how many jobs it will bring to Derby.
But it is symbolic for the city classed as the 'home of the railway-making' - with trains being produced in the city since 1839.
It's home to the UK's biggest train factory, owned by Alstom, where around 2,000 people are employed.