This page has been retained so that those who are interested can see how the voting stage of the Great British Railways national HQ competition was described and advertised. This stage ran between 5 July and 15 August 2022.

About the voting stage

Following strong applications from 42 local authorities across Britain in the competition to find a location for the headquarters of Great British Railways, six locations have been shortlisted.

This stage of the competition gives the public the opportunity to vote for their preferred location from the shortlist. The results will be used to measure the level of support for each place and will be considered as part of final decision making.  

During this time, Government Ministers and GBRTT representatives will also visit each of the shortlisted towns and cities to gain a greater understanding of each place.

    Six criteria were used to inform the selection process to choose the shortlisted locations:

    1. Alignment to ‘levelling-up' objectives
    2. Connected and easy to get to across the UK
    3. Opportunities for Great British Railways
    4. Railway heritage and links to the network
    5. Value for money  
    6. Public support

    The building site will preferably use existing estate that is either publicly owned or already part of the public sector rail estate, although alternative proposals may be considered.

    The six shortlisted locations

    Birmingham

    submitted by West Midlands Combined Authority

    Crewe

    submitted by Cheshire East Council

    Derby

    submitted by Derby City Council

    Doncaster

    submitted by Doncaster Council

    Newcastle

    submitted by Newcastle City Council

    York

    submitted by City of York Council

    The 36 runners-up

    This list contains those places that took part in the first stage of the competition to find a location for the headquarters of Great British Railways, with links to their Expressions of Interest.

    • Barrow in Furness – submitted by the Office of Simon Fell MP
    • Bishops Stortford – submitted by Shaping Stortford Group 
    • Bolton – submitted by Bolton Council
    • Bristol and Bath – submitted by West of England Combined Authority  
    • Camborne – submitted by Camborne Town Council 
    • Carlisle – submitted by Carlisle City Council
    • Carnforth – submitted by Lancaster City Council
    • Coventry – submitted by Coventry City Council
    • Darlington – submitted by Darlington Borough Council 
    • Didcot – submitted by South Oxfordshire District Council
    • Dundee – submitted by Dundee City Council
    • Durham City – submitted by Durham County Council 
    • Eastleigh – submitted by Eastleigh Borough Council 
    • Edinburgh – submitted by City of Edinburgh Council 
    • Gloucester – submitted by Gloucestershire County Council 
    • Grantham – submitted by Lincolnshire County Council 
    • Heywood – submitted by Rochdale Borough Council 
    • Hull – submitted by Hull City Council
    • Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline – submitted by Fife Partnership Board
    • Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Wigan – submitted by Greater Manchester Combined Authority
    • Milton Keynes – submitted by Milton Keynes Council
    • Motherwell – submitted by North Lanarkshire Council 
    • Northampton – submitted by West Northamptonshire Council 
    • Nuneaton – submitted by Warwickshire County Council 
    • Parkside (Newton-le-Willows) – submitted by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
    • Perth – submitted by Perth & Kinross Council 
    • Peterborough – submitted by Peterborough City Council
    • Preston – submitted by Lancashire County Council
    • Southampton – submitted by Southampton City Council 
    • Stockton-on-Tees – submitted by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
    • Swindon – submitted by Swindon Borough Council
    • Tamworth – submitted by Staffordshire County Council 
    • Tonbridge – submitted by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council 
    • Wakefield – submitted by West Yorkshire Combined Authority 
    • Wellingborough – submitted by North Northamptonshire Council
    • Worcester – submitted by Worcestershire County Council 

    More information 

    The selection process is being run by the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT).