Why? It isn't at the moment.Should be at MK.
Why? It isn't at the moment.Should be at MK.
Why? It isn't at the moment.
In that case I suggest Barnard Castle. I town that the nation is more familiar with than it ought to be.With tongue firmly in cheek (!?!) one imagines a government competition which omits to specify that the host town must have a railway station. It would be a particularly British thing to end up with its rail HQ in a town not served by rail!
You can get there by railway of course, just that it’s a long walk!In that case I suggest Barnard Castle. I town that the nation is more familiar with than it ought to be.
RTC should always be (if it isn’t already) recognised as a historical siteDon't forget what was called the Railway Technical Centre in Derby is still government owned (through LCR Property); not sure how much of the office buildings (Brunel, Derwent, Trent, Kelvin Houses, etc) is vacant though
Although much of it was built in the 1960s (and it received an architectural award at the time), it has been continually updated; moreover, it's easily accessible from most other railway centres (the major exception being Milton Keynes) and from London
Very little involvement from the French or the Belgians here. Amsterdam (for Abellio, although they're actually headquartered in Utrecht) and Rome (for Trenitalia) would have been better choices for the joke.Why not Paris, Brussels or Berlin, as most of the TOCs seem to be owned by companies from some of these country's plus some more.
He got a point thoughVery little involvement from the French or the Belgians here. Amsterdam (for Abellio, although they're actually headquartered in Utrecht) and Rome (for Trenitalia) would have been better choices for the joke.
Very little involvement from the French or the Belgians here. Amsterdam (for Abellio, although they're actually headquartered in Utrecht) and Rome (for Trenitalia) would have been better choices for the joke.
Well, for a start, the fact that GBR's largest function will be that it inherits from Network Rail - which is wholly owned by HM Government and thus about the closest to "entirely British" that you can get.Who said it was a joke!
Today (5 July 2022), I am announcing the shortlist of the most suitable potential locations for the national headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR), which will go forward to a consultative public vote to be held online and by post.
The confirmed list of shortlisted towns and cities is:
- Birmingham
- Crewe
- Derby
- Doncaster
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- York
I'm delighted to announce the towns & cities that will compete for the honour of being crowned the home of GB Railways are:
Birmingham
Crewe
Derby
Doncaster
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
York
The management will probably be working remotely 95% of the time!I reckon they will choose York as it’s the nicest place for all the high paid managers to want to live.
They ought to pick Crewe though, the town is crying out for investment and there are some very nice parts of Cheshire to live nearby!
I still think it should have been MK because they've got that dirty great building already!
But out of those it's a bit hard to choose:
Brum: centrally located to rail and road, the rational choice
Crewe: in serious need of some heavy regeneration, plus well rail-connected
Derby: strong traditional railway connection
York: same as Derby
Donny: same as Crewe to an extent plus historic railway connections
Newcastle: great city and as far from London as you can get
I think I would probably go Crewe, quite simply because of the regeneration potential for a town that is very much in the doldrums and needs a leg up, plus it's better connected by rail than some of the others and there's land near the station that could be used to build it so rail travel is prioritised.
Exactly.What a waste of our money.
this is utter nonsense
Then Newcastle fits best if we’re talking GB rather than just England.I'd probably want to go with somewhere fairly central and with good railway connections.
Then Newcastle fits best if we’re talking GB rather than just England.
Out of all those Birmingham is the only sensible choice, purely because it’s closer to the capital.
Maybe. Just have to see what happens.Then Newcastle fits best if we’re talking GB rather than just England.