York to bid for Great Britain Railways headquarters

The aim is to find a location with a "rich railway history", said the government

York is to bid to become the home of a new national body for the country's railways.

The city's council leader Keith Aspden said it would make "perfect sense" for Great British Railways (GBR) to be based there.

A competition to find a host for the new body was announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Monday.

The headquarters would go to a place "with a rich railway history", said the government announcement.

Mr Aspden and the leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Carl Les, had already written earlier this year to Mr Shapps about York's potential.

The new, state-owned GBR was announced in May in a plan to reform the railway system.

There are about 5,000 rail jobs based in York, about 10% of the national rail industry, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service..

Train operators based there include LNER, Northern Railway and Grand Central.

Network Rail also employs 1,000 people in York and its training hub is in the city.

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Mr Aspden said with existing rail links, rail sector jobs and a highly-skilled workforce, it "would make perfect sense for the headquarters to be based in the city".

The council is to submit a bid with the support of partners, he added.