Great British Railways HQ - Nuneaton

Britain’s railways are embarking on a major, once in a generation reform that will transform the way in which the sector works, bringing together track and train to deliver a customer-focused railway. Great British Railways will be the railway’s new guiding mind, serving  as a single, accountable public body responsible for running Britain’s railways. As a new organisation, with a new culture, focused on serving the interests of everyone in Britain, Great British Railways will need a new national headquarters.

We think that Nuneaton should be the location for this new headquarters.

Nuneaton, and the wider Warwickshire and Coventry area has always been a centre of vehicle design and manufacture. Today our industry and universities are a major global force in net zero transport technologies.

Warwickshire is the home of Vivarail, the manufacturer of the first battery train running on the UK network; the first UK mainline demonstrator for hydrogen fuel, the Hydroflex, was tested and developed at Long Marston; and the University of Warwick WMG with TDI International and partners have developed a whole new class of train, the Revolution VLR, a lower cost form of mass transit to level up access to railway provision for towns and smaller cities.

Nuneaton Station was established in 1847, and the railways were a major motor for the local coal industry, which was a major local employer in the 19th and 20th century in and around Nuneaton.

Nuneaton’s excellent links at the centre of the East and West Midlands rail supply chain, access to local and regional talent with 6m people within 1 hour, and it's transport design and manufacturing heritage, make this the perfect location for Great British Railways to relocate and reinvent itself.

The town is already a headquarters location for Holland & Barrett, Nasmyth and Fedex.

As the birthplace of the Victorian novelist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), the town is famous as the setting of novels like Middlemarch. It can also look back with pride on a heritage of rail-linked collieries; the skilled craftspeople who hand-built bodies for the Jaguar E-Type and Ford GT40 on Bayton Road; the engineers who in more recent times created the innovative vehicles at Gibbs Amphibians.  A town of hard work, industry and reinvention.

Nuneaton’s excellent links at the centre of the East and West Midlands rail supply chain, access to local and regional talent with 6m people within 1 hour, and it's transport design and manufacturing heritage, make this the perfect location for Great British Railways to relocate and reinvent itself.

Today Nuneaton draws talent from across the East and West Midlands to major businesses like Brose, REE Auto, IM Kelly, MIRA Technology Park, Pimsa and Nasmyth. Oleo International and TA Savery, a leaders in hydraulic systems and rail impact technology, can trace their history back to the 15th century, and today are at the cutting edge of the digital railway.

Nuneaton is the largest town in Warwickshire, and one of the largest mainline stations in the Midlands outside of Birmingham New Street. It is a short drive to East Midlands and Birmingham International Airports, and within the logistics ‘golden triangle’ it has unrivalled access to the motorway network. For staff relocating to the Nuneaton area, the surrounding countryside and market towns, and vibrant cities of Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester, provide staff with a range of options.

The relocation of this major HQ facility will provide Nuneaton with a transformational opportunity to regenerate and level up the town. In return, this growing Midlands town will provide Great British Railways with the perfect launching point to revolutionise and repurpose our national railways, located at a central point on the rail network, to access the rail industry operating and design and manufacturing eco-system.

The HQ development will form a key part of the Transforming Nuneaton Programme (TNP), a vision for Nuneaton to create a vibrant, attractive and prosperous town centre that offers a range of opportunities for everyone.

The TN programme brings together a number of key projects that, together, will provide Nuneaton with the economic boost it needs and help it become a strong hub for its community. Investment in the town centre will see improved leisure and business opportunities, education and skills, unlock housing development and improve rail, highway and cycle infrastructure to support economic growth within the Borough and wider area whilst ensuring that the town helps reduce its impact on climate change.

Show your support for Nuneaton’s bid to become the new HQ of Great British Railways and submit your comments.

Support the campaign #NuneatonGBRplus