The North East has entered the bidding to bring the new headquarters of the new Great British Railways body to the region, playing on Newcastle's heritage as the area that gave birth to the railways almost 200 years ago.
Newcastle has joined a number of communities in bidding to host the new public body, that will integrate the UK’s railways as part of a move away from the privatised rail network.
A bid by the city to house the organisation is now being finalised, with the Stephenson Quarter – where the Robert Stephenson & Co. Locomotive Works was established in 1823 as the first manufacturing facility of its kind in the world – one of the possible locations.
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The new Great British Railways organisation will own the country’s rail infrastructure, collect fare revenue and plan fares and timetables, and it is hoped the new facility would create hundreds of new jobs.
The presence of a major railways training centre in Gateshead, run by Newcastle College, also adds weight to the bid, which would see Newcastle go up against a number of other towns and cities wanting to secure the jobs and influence that would come with hosting the railways HQ.
City council leader Nick Forbes: “The North East was the birthplace of the railways – we sent locomotives all over the world from the Pattern Shop on Stephenson Quarter so what better place to locate the headquarters of Great British Railways?
“This would create hundreds of new jobs and attract all kinds of spin-off businesses breathing life into an under-used part of the city centre and giving it a bright new future with a welcome boost for the local economy.
“Securing this national investment for Newcastle would be great for the region, bringing good quality jobs to the North East. With Invest Newcastle we are working hard to try and bring this home.”
North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll said: “This would be a symbolic homecoming and a fantastic opportunity to create new jobs.
“The North East was once the home of the locomotive – it should be again.”
The bid to bring the Great British Railways headquarters here in the region is being led by Invest Newcastle, part of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, and backed by a number of key businesses in the region.
The expression of interest is the first stage in the selection process that will run until the summer when the winning location will be announced.
Sam Cassidy, investment manager at Invest Newcastle, said: “Our bid is robust, and we’ve identified specific sites within the city for Great British Railways to locate its headquarters.
“If our bid is successful, the establishment of the headquarters in the city would bring with it a significant number of jobs that will benefit the whole region.”
The expression of interest being submitted by Invest Newcastle is the first stage in the selection process that will run until the summer when the winning location will be announced.
The competition consists of a further three stages, with the shortlisted locations being announced in May.
This will be followed by Ministerial visits to those locations and a public vote before the final location is announced in the summer.
