Support Derby bid to host Great British Railways

Derby has taken a step closer in its bid to become the new home of Great British Railways (GBR).

The city is one of six locations to be shortlisted from 42 expressions of interest across the UK. The chosen city will become the HQ for the new organisation which has been created to deliver a simpler, better railway for everyone in Britain. The other shortlisted cities are Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York.

Bringing GBR to Derby would be extremely beneficial for the region and would help to level up the area, which is why we’ve badged our bid and campaign as the ‘East Midlands’ vote. The winning location will also see the move of highly skilled jobs and investment outside of London into our region.

Why we believe that Derby and the East Midlands are the perfect choice for GBR:

  • One of the first great British railway towns
  • The only city to have manufactured rolling stock continuously since 1840
  • The East Midlands is the geographic and strategic heart of Britain’s railway
  • Home to Europe’s largest cluster of private-sector rail businesses
  • A centre of railway skills with over 11,000 highly-skilled rail employees based in the Derby area and 45,000 rail-related jobs across the East Midlands

During the bidding process we reached out to Local Authorities across the East Midlands and received backing from Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Leicester and Leicestershire, alongside 21 MPs from across the region. We now need your help to spread the word and help Derby and the East Midlands become the new home for GBR.

Please help us by sharing our campaign with your colleagues, stakeholders, friends and family and ask them to vote for Derby!

How can you help

You can visit the Destination Derby website to learn more about the campaign and access our online toolkit for photos, logos and social media graphics. 

We’ll be sharing messaging through the Derby City Council Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook pages throughout the campaign and public vote.

Please help to share these messages using #DerbyGBR and the national campaign #DestinationGBR or by sharing your own messages of support.

Visit www.derbygbr.co.uk/vote to vote for Derby!