Great British Railways competition ‘cringeworthy and ill judged’ says former rail boss

‘In what sane world does a business ask the public to vote for the location of its headquarters?’ wrote one respondent

All change? Crewe station in Cheshire (Simon Calder)

A competition to find the best city to host the headquarters for the new Great British Railways (GBR) has been described as “cringeworthy and ill judged” by a leading industry figure.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, tweeted: “The search has begun for a home town or city for the HQ of the new Great British Railways – and we’ll be asking the public to vote on the finalists.”

One of the first to respond to the ministerial announcement was Richard Bowker – the former chairman and chief executive of the Strategic Rail Authority.

“I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he wrote.

“Given the issues facing the railway at the moment, we need an inspiring leader, not diversion tactics.”

He described the search for a headquarters location for as “975th on the priority list”.

Mr Bowker dismissed the plan as “someone auditioning for the local am drams”.

“Cringeworthy and ill judged,” was his conclusion.

Other senior rail figures were also dismissive of the plan. In response to Mr Bowker’s comments, Roger Ford – industry and technology editor of Modern Railways – wrote: “And is a 30 year Whole Industry Strategic Plan 974th or 876th?”

His analogy for the concept was: “All a bit like me deciding where to put the trophy cabinet as I consider starting a new career as a Formula 1 driver.”

Jim Barrett wrote: “In what sane world does a business ask the public to vote for the location of its headquarters?”

Network Rail, which will be part of GBR, already has an out-of-London headquarters at Milton Keynes.

The local chair of the Liberal Democrats, Richard Greenwood, wrote: “There is also already an existing rail national operations HQ in Milton Keynes, purpose-built 10 years ago for £107m and employing 3,000 staff.

“Money should be spent improving services, not wasted replicating something which already exists.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport (DfT) said: “We have launched a competition for the public to make the case to be the home of Great British Railways and we hope that the passion and enthusiasm that people up and down the country have for rail will help shape the network of the future.

“This government is making major decisions to build a railway that is fit for the future. We’re spending a record £96bn to transform journeys, boost the network and build back better from the pandemic.

“We’re also driving ahead with the ambitious reforms in our Plan for Rail, delivering massive improvements to rail to level up across Great Britain, and improve the experience for passengers and freight customers.”

The contenders for the GBR HQ must demonstrate good connectivity and railway heritage. Leading contenders include Crewe, Darlington and Derby.