Great British Railways: Deadline approaches for public vote – BBC

The deadline is approaching for the public to vote which town or city should be the home of the new body that will run Britain's railways.
Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and York are all in the running to host the Great British Railways (GBR) headquarters.
The public vote closes at midnight on 15 August. The result will help ministers make their final choice.
GBR will oversee rail infrastructure, ticket prices and timetables.
The headquarters will bring "a number of high-skilled jobs" to the winning location, according to the Department for Transport.
Local economies would be further boosted by a number of new regional headquarters across the country, it said.
The organisation is expected to move in to an existing building, preferably a publicly-owned site in the successful town or city, according to the Great British Railways Transition Team.
Rail minister Wendy Morton MP visited Doncaster on Friday to assess the city's bid after visiting the other five locations on the shortlist.
She said: "If Doncaster is chosen, it will be really significant for the area, it will also mean a number of jobs will come to Doncaster which is an important part of our levelling up agenda.
"What I've seen is a bit more detail about Doncaster's bid for the location of the GBR HQ. I've visited a number of sites in the city."
The six shortlisted locations are:
The city is home to the HS2 head office and 94 million rail journeys are made in the region each year, according to West Midlands Combined Authority.
It said the city has one of the youngest and most diverse populations in Europe and the move could provide opportunities in the industry for the next generation.
The town of Crewe in Cheshire has already felt the impact of a "lack of investment in railways", according to Cheshire East Council, which is leading its bid for the GBR headquarters.
In 2018, Crewe celebrated 175 years of railway engineering, with the first locomotive produced at Crewe Works rolled out on 20 October 1843.
Councillor Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "Crewe has a strong rail heritage and is one of the most connected interchanges in the country, connecting the nation and serving as a gateway for the North."
Derby is the only city to have manufactured rolling stock, such as passenger coaches and locomotives, continuously since 1840, according to Derby City Council.
More than 11,000 railway employees are based in the area, it said, as part of its bid to become home to GBR.
Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: "Rail is in the blood of many generations of people in Derby, who are naturally proud of our rich and deep-rooted rail heritage."
Doncaster was the birthplace of the Mallard and Flying Scotsman locomotives and has "over 150 years of engineering excellence", said its mayor, Ros Jones.
The city is home to the Doncaster Plant Works and the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure.
The former town was also awarded city status in May as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Newcastle City Council highlighted the city's historic links to the railways as part of its bid.
It said the Robert Stephenson and Company Works, established in 1823, opened the world's first purpose-built locomotive factory in Forth Banks in the city.
Newcastle College has a rail and civil engineering academy, which the council said will develop new graduates for the rail industry.
There are about 5,000 rail jobs based in York, about 10% of the national rail industry, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The city is also home to the National Railway Museum.
Gareth Dennis, railway engineer and writer, said York "has a bright railway future", adding: "It's a big hub, a large part of the [industry] is already headquartered here."
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