16th March 2022 - Where should the GBR HQ be?

[whole diary]

[Mark A]

My take: the minister of state for transport is being abusive towards many current railway staff, who shouldn't be made to worry that they may need to uproot their lives in an unnecessary move brought about by a political gesture.

Portillo should have a word with himself for taking this gig.

And Shapps might well find, on reaching the pearly gates, that Gabriel (quite fond, incognito, of signing on for turns on the footplate at various heritage lines) will want a word with him about that trainspotter gybe.

And seeing that it was filmed at Marylebone, he owes an apology to the Beatles too, and at the end of this process if the GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) headquarters location being settled by the fates as Woodford Halse, he has only himself to blame.

[stuving]

It's hard to know how much this matters - or what to put in a bid - without knowing how many people this HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) will house. All I can see in the competition guidance is "the national team is planned to be a lean business unit" and "the headquarters is expected to house a modest staff". At least, I assume that's about their number. 

So, a currently closed shop unit in a station somewhere?

[Electric train]

I'm wondering if Bristol would put itself forward?  Plenty of railway tradition but perhaps it's only the Midlands and the North that the government are really looking to.  In any case, I doubt if Metro Mayor of Mayor Marv would want to come out to play.

Swindon has a greater claim toa  railway tradition that Bristol IMHO^▸ ('in my humble opinion').  However I think Derby, Crewe, Doncaster or even York would fit with the present government's levelling up agenda.  However the logical outcome for me would be Milton Keynes (aka Wolverton) since many of Network Rail's staff were relocated there not long ago, at a serious cost in loss of skills, and a further relocation would risk loosing even more of those skills. 

Being a former Railway Town will not count for much.   GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) will be a administration and necessarily an operations centre.  The ToC's already run as devolved business and Network Rail is rapidly progressing to a regional devolved business; MK^▸ (Milton Keynes) has shrunk in its importance to the day to day involvement in running a railway.   

The location chosen will host rolls taken out of DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road, formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) and some parts of the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) central functions, it will, I suspect, eventually have 2 out bases one in Wales the other in Scotland

[Ralph Ayres]

I despair. If the government and the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) can't use their expertise to work out where best to place an HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) building then there really is something wrong. A public vote is likely to be mostly about an unwieldy combination of railway heritage, mischief (remember Boaty McB?), politics and regional loyalties. How about choosing it based on factors like availability of a suitable building/space to build one cheaply, where the staff who will work in it are currently based, good public transport links and so on?

[Reading General]

It does fit the competition on every level agenda though. Pit people or places against each other for jobs and economic growth.

[CyclingSid]

It does fit the competition on every level agenda though. Pit people or places against each other for jobs and economic growth.

Virtually every government allocation of funding is done on the bidding process. Health have had to do this for years; spend vast amount of time and energy doing the paperwork, if you are lucky you then get a paltry sum of money, and then you have to spend more time and energy doing paperwork to show and justify what you have done. Good for bureaucracy and ministers off-loading responsibility, but not much else.

[TaplowGreen]

There is plenty of empty office space throughout the country, why talk of an "HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) building", just work out how many desks are needed (bearing in mind that the majority of office workers will be working a hybrid pattern and WFH^▸ (Working From Home) far more) and lease the necessary space, NOT in a "prestige" central London location, this is public money and as little as is necessary should be spent.

If there's a possibility of creating jobs in an area where they're needed so much the better, base it there, it doesn't need to be in a "Railway town", it will mostly be an admin and Operations centre.

You only have to look at buildings like InterCity House in Plymouth, which was dilapidated before it was finished and never close to being fully utilised to realise the folly of the alternative.

[IndustryInsider]

The one location that has definitely been ruled out is London.

[1st fan]

Going with current joined up thinking from the Government, what about Newcastle-under-Lyme? No train station there to distract the hard working GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) employees.

[grahame]

Going with current joined up thinking from the Government, what about Newcastle-under-Lyme? No train station there to distract the hard working GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) employees.

I was about to suggest Bude, Ripon or Skelmersdale ...

[broadgage]

I would favour anywhere reasonably central and with good rail connections, it would in my view be preferable for the majority of GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) staff to walk, cycle, or use public transport for travel to the offices.
It sets a very poor example if most of the staff drive to work in a rail related business.

Agree not London which is crowded and therefore expensive.

An existing building, available to lease or purchase affordably is preferable to new build which is bound to take longer and cost more than expected.
A building already suitable for the intended use without any need for significant alterations or other building works would be preferred, again to avoid delays and ballooning costs.

[TonyK]

How about putting forward Portishead for the HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters)? It's fairly pleasant, and it might just help get the railway built.

[grahame]

Melksham would be a good location from what I've read.
Connectable rail service, with added bus links 

We were discussing that earlier. Stranger things have happened.

Could do far, far, far worse ... it's educational to think the unthinkable http://www.passenger.chat/hqx.pdf ... something I used on last month but concluded I should not seriously take further. 

Would be supportive another appropriate bid from within this (Wessex) region, which has most of what it takes, and that which it ain't got can be fixed (such as by restarting VT0 to fix the frankly appalling rail connectivity from here about to the Midlands and North.

[TonyK]

Any last minute submissions really need to be finished today. Just reminding everyone.

[grahame]

From the Yorkshire Post

T

ransport for the North has launched a campaign calling on the Government to choose one of the four Northern contenders.

Chief Executive Martin Tugwell said: “The new Great British Railways’ (GBR^▸ (Great British Railways)) headquarters can be anywhere, as long as it’s here in the North.

"Transport for the North will be making the case for it to be based here in the heart of the country over the coming weeks. 

“Our country’s national railway is over 200 years old, but few people know that our rail network was born here in the North of England with the very first railways and stations. By basing GBR here it will be a homecoming.”

Councillor Carl Les, Leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said setting up the GBR headquarters in the North would support the Government’s levelling up agenda.

“York has an extensive rail heritage and the right skills and people to make GBR a success,” he added.

I can't help feeling that a new start is required, and sticking with the old favourites will confirm that the railways are stuck in the past.

May I suggest looking to somewhere that railway improvement and investment will be really welcome.   Corsham, Portishead, Tavistock, Yetminster, Fowey or Dunster?