Carlisle’s bid to become the new headquarters of Great British Railways is steaming ahead.
Cross-party councillors from Carlisle City Council, Carlisle MP John Stevenson, business leaders and key stakeholders, are all supporting the city’s bid to be the base for the new headquarters of Great British Railways.
The UK Government has launched a competition to find a home in the north of England for the organisation which will take over as the single accountable governing body for Britain’s railways.
An Expressions of Interest bid was submitted by Carlisle City Council yesterday.
Within it, the council references the city’s strategic transport importance, its railway heritage and promotes the city’s opportunities for the possible location of the new HQ.
Carlisle is an established railway city, forming the focus for a number of routes because of the geography of the area. It is also a highly accessible city by rail both nationally and internationally, benefitting from excellent north-south strategic connectivity via the West Coast Main Line, linking it to Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Manchester International Airport as well as east-west connectivity via Tyne Valley Line linking it to Newcastle.
Cllr John Mallinson, Leader of Carlisle City Council said: “Carlisle has a long and proud railway heritage, and our bid sets out the many sound economic reasons why Carlisle should be the new headquarters for the Great British Railways. It makes sense for the city to be considered and I’m delighted that we’ve got such great support backing our bid.”
John Stevenson MP welcomed the bid.
“Carlisle is not only a city with a proud and distinguished railway history – it is one with a bright and important railway future,” he said.
“I believe Carlisle would be the ideal location for the headquarters of this exciting new organisation.”
The following reasons have been given why the HQ should be based in Carlisle:
- Railway City – Carlisle Station (Carlisle Citadel) is a main station on the West Coast Main Line. As well as being a main station on one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe it is also the northern terminus of the historic Settle-Carlisle railway line.
- Carlisle Station has acted as the terminus for visitors to the Lake District and the Scottish Borders for 150 years now – and the building is a classic example of Victorian railway architecture.
- Carlisle’s history is also an industrial one, with the railways playing a key part in the export of raw material, grains, animals, and manufactured goods – which it still does today.
- The station is to receive a £24 million upgrade this year – which will see the station brought right up to date and coincide extremely well with the possibility of the city being made the headquarters for GBR.
The competition will consist of four stages that will enable Great British Railway Transition Team to find the most suitable candidate for the national headquarters.
- Stage 1 – Expression of Interest deadline: March 16.
- Stage 2 – Shortlist announced: May 2022.
- Stage 3 – Ministerial visits to shortlisted places and a public vote: May 2022.
- Stage 4 – Headquarters’ location announced: Summer 2022.
For more information visit https://gbrtt.co.uk/hq/
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