Yesterday, Cllr Ben Bradley MP attended the Rail Forum event in the House of Commons to show his support for Derby’s bid to be the home of Great British Rail.
As part of the government’s commitment to level-up the UK, and following the publication of the Levelling Up white paper, the new GBR HQ will be based outside of London and bring a number of high-skilled jobs to the winning location. Mr Bradley, who is also Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, has joined councils across the East Midlands in support of Derby’s bid, including Derbyshire, Nottingham, Leicester, and Leicestershire.
Mr Bradley has argued that this bid will work in tandem with wider Rail plans for the region, which includes:
- £12 billion Integrated Rail Plan announcements, linking Derby and Nottingham to Birmingham
- Four HS2 stations by building HS2 East from the West Midlands to East Midlands Parkway – meaning direct HS2 services to Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield, and Sheffield
- Fully electrifying the Midland Main Line, beginning work by the end of this year to electrify a new section of the line between Kettering and Market Harborough
- Confirmation of the Robin Hood Line extension
- Upgrading of the Midlands Mainline
The Mansfield MP also hopes to secure a direct Mansfield to London service, which will become possible once the Maid Marian Line is up and running.
Commenting, Ben Bradley MP said:
“I’m proud to be backing Derby to be the home of Great British Rail and it’s fantastic to see that the whole region is backing Derby’s bid. I enjoyed hearing all about the bid from Pauline Latham MP at yesterday’s Rail Forum event, as well as hearing from the Rail Minister, Wendy Morton MP, about Government’s rail plans and investments.
“I’m excited at the prospect of our neck of the woods becoming the home of the new national rail organisation. This ties in neatly with our major regional rail plans, which I’ve been pushing for. We’ve secured four HS2 stations across Derbyshire and Notts, reopened old lines including the Robin Hood and Maid Marian Line, and upgraded the Midlands Mainline through to Sheffield. With all of this investment coming to our region, it’s only right that we top it off with Derby becoming the Great British Railways HQ!
“I’m delighted with the progress we are making to ensure Government invests in our transport infrastructure. This type of investment is life-changing for my constituents across Mansfield and Warsop, and I’ve taken a leading role in securing £12 billion for our region. Fingers crossed we have the same amount of success with Derby’s bid!”
