Great British Railways: Doncaster bid backed by business leaders

Doncaster is one of more than 30 towns and cities bidding for Great British Railways' HQ

South Yorkshire business leaders have backed Doncaster's bid to be the home of a new national railway body.

The town wants to be the base for Great British Railways (GBR), which will oversee rail infrastructure, ticket prices and timetables.

Chambers of Commerce in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham have supported Doncaster's bid.

Doncaster chamber's Dan Fell said the county backing showed there was a "community of train families".

The South Yorkshire town, York and Wakefield are among more than 30 locations to have put forward proposals to be the home of GBR.

Announced as part of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail in May 2021, the new public body will run and plan the rail network.

The department will take over responsibilities from Network Rail as well as parts of the Department for Transport.

Mr Fell said: "Our region may be steeped in rail history, but it's our future too.

"We built the Flying Scotsman and Mallard. But we also maintain today's fleet of new LNER trains."

Dan Fell, Doncaster chamber's chief executive, described the bid as "a major milestone"

The Doncaster bid has also been backed by Hull's Chamber of Commerce, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Andrew Denniff, chief executive of Barnsley and Rotherham's chamber, said a successful bid would benefit the whole of South Yorkshire.

He added: "It would be great news for businesses and communities in the region, through the supply chain and job opportunities created."