Kentish Express Ashford & District
Could Ashford be rail HQ?
Locating the first headquarters of the new Great British Railways (GBR) in Ashford would be a “feather in the cap” of the town, its MP has said.
The Department for Transport wants the national headquarters of the new rail body to be based outside London, and Damian Green believes the historic railway town should seek to compete for the chance to be its new home.
As well as a new national HQ, GBR will also require regional bases across the country.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps hopes these new centres of the railway industry will recognise towns and cities with a rich rail heritage that are strongly linked to the network.
Mr Green said: “It’s certainly worth investigating.
“Given Ashford’s railway history, it would be entirely appropriate to have the headquarters here.
“It’s a question of what it would entail, but I certainly think it’s worth preliminary investigations as it would be historic, and a feather in the cap of the town.”
Ashford sits at a crucial hub of the railway network in the south of England, connected not only to HS1 and the European rail network, but also a junction for a number of other domestic lines stretching out across Kent and Sussex.
The South Eastern Railway main line reached the town in 1842, and engineering works were swiftly established to begin Ashford’s era as a major industrial centre.
Today the town is home to the Hitachi Rail Europe Ashford Depot, the first rail vehicle maintenance centre built in Europe by Japanese rail vehicle manufacturer, where trains such as the high-speed ‘Javelin’ Class 395 are maintained.
Other major railway centres, including Crewe, York and Doncaster, are understood to be in the running for the new headquarters.
ABC says it will be looking at the potential opportunities presented by the selection of new national and regional headquarters for the new railways body.