Crewe, home to one of the most historic railway stations in the world, submitted its ambitious bid to become the new headquarters for GBR earlier this year – backed by a team made up of Cheshire East Council, Crewe Town Board, Staffordshire MPs, Freightliner Group and Nub News.

New public rail operator GBR will oversee every railway in England, Wales and Scotland.

Today Government Ministers announced that of the original 42 submissions, Crewe has been shortlisted alongside Birmingham, Newcastle, Doncaster, York and Derby.

The council hopes GBR will attract jobs and new businesses to Crewe – and offer opportunities that will help the local rail industry thrive.

Business leaders and local politicians believe Crewe's strong connectivity with the rest of the country means the headquarters would also benefit the whole of the region.

Hyperlocal news network Nub News – which is about to open its own new headquarters in Crewe – has backed Crewe's bid for GRB through its 50 websites.

Ministers will be helped to make their final decision by a public vote, due to be staged later this month. 

The new home of GBR will be announced later in the summer.

This is now - Crewe station

How does the public vote work?

There will be a non-binding, online vote, hosted by The Great British Railways Transition Team (GRBTT).

This will give the public the opportunity to support and vote for their preferred location from the shortlist.

The vote will take place around visits from Government Ministers and GBRTT representatives to the shortlisted locations.

Politicians say they will do this to gain a greater understanding of prospective locations' intentions and to get a feel for the momentum of each bid.

The result of this vote will be used to measure the level of public support for each location. The GRBTT will consider this as part of final decision-making.  

Councillor Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "We are absolutely thrilled that Crewe has been shortlisted as one of the locations being seriously considered as the new home for GBR.

"We strongly believe that Crewe is the right and logical choice. Crewe is a rail town through and through, at the heart of the rail network.

"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 to the North."

The golden age of Heswall railway station at the beginning of the 20th century - Picture: the Alsop Collection

Karl Hancock, CEO of Nub News, said: "We are delighted to be backing Crewe's bid to be the home of Great British Railways.

"Crewe has for a long time been at the heart of rail in this country and rail is at the heart of the town - it truly can offer the heritage, infrastructure and expertise needed to make this opportunity a success for the whole country.

"Whether you are reading this in Cheshire, Wirral, the Midlands, London, Dorset, Devon, or anywhere else in the country, here at Nub News we believe this is a bid not just for the people of Crewe but the entire country.

"It is one of our best connected towns and I'm sure many of our readers have gone through it on the train or even changed there.

"The levelling-up impacts that GBR will bring to Crewe won't simply stay there, but will flow throughout the country due to these strong links."

"We need everyone to pull together to raise the profile of Crewe and win the public vote."

If you'd like to vote, just click or tap here…

Who knows - if Crewe wins, maybe Heswall station will be given a bit of makeover?

Heswall (Hills) station