Morton addresses staff moves to new GBR HQ

Rail Minister Wendy Morton has addressed a question about which roles will be moving from the Department for Transport to the new Great British Railways (GBR) HQ.

Labour member for York Central, Rachael Maskell, asked a written question as to whether the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, “plans to move a proportion of his Department’s staff to that location”.

GBR will have a different remit from Network Rail, with the new public body taking responsibility for not just infrastructure but most fares and timetables.

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Currently the change to this new way of operating is being shepherded by the GBR Transition Team, and a number of regions are competing to be the location that will house the headquarters, including York.

Morton, in reply, said it was currently too early to tell who or what roles would be moved, saying: “The headquarters will be modest with the exact size yet to be determined.

“The GBR headquarters will provide strategic direction for the rail industry and the regionalised structure, ensuring decision making is bought to the regional and local level.

“At this stage it is far too early to say which roles will be based at the GBR HQ, this is all part of the ongoing planning work for the setup of GBR.”

Inside Track has a special supplement about the 42 towns and cities that have joined the race to become the new home of Great British Railways HQ, click here for more.

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