An MP has accused ministers of "giving up on the North" after Newcastle missed out on becoming the new headquarters of Britain’s railways.
The city had made the final shortlist of six locations vying to house Great British Railways (GBR), but has now lost out to Derby. It had been hoped that Newcastle’s strong connections to the birth of the UK’s railways, as the home of Robert Stephenson’s locomotive works, would help deliver success.
But the Government confirmed on Tuesday morning that Derby, where thousands of people are employed at the Alstom train factory, had prevailed – also beating Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, and York. Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah complained that ministers “just don't see the North as a target for investment”.
