It
was
being
reported
last
night

that
the
East
Midlands
city
of
Derby
has
been
chosen
to
host
the
headquarters
of
Great
British
Railways,
the
industry’s
new
‘guiding
mind’.

If
GBR
goes
ahead
after
an
Act
of
Parliament
is
passed
next
year,
it
will
take
over
the
management
of
passenger
contracts,
formerly
known
as
franchises,
and
also
Network
Rail,
reducing
the
role
of
the
Department
for
Transport
so
that
it
will
only
decide
broad
policy.

If
Derby
has
been
chosen,
it
will
have
beaten
five
other
shortlisted
entries
from Birmingham,
Crewe,
Doncaster,
Newcastle
and
York,
but
at
least
some
of
those
places
could
be
chosen
for
GBR’s
regional
centres.

Derby
has
long
claimed
to
be
the
greatest
‘railway
cluster’
in
Europe,
and
still
has
Alstom’s
train-building
works
in
Litchurch
Lane,
which
was
run
by
Bombardier
until
recently.
Alstom opened
a
national
training
academy
for
apprentices
last
month,
when
a
plaque
was
unveiled
by
veteran
Derby
South
MP
Dame
Margaret
Beckett
during
National
Apprenticeship
Week.

Although
the
choice
of
Derby
has
not
been
confirmed,
an
announcement
is
expected
later
this
morning.