Great British Railways HQ to be in Derby with up to 600 apprenticeships

The site of the Great British Railways new HQ has been confirmed in Derby, alongside up to 600 apprenticeship places for young people. The government announced on Thursday 15 October 2026 that the headquarters will be built at Becketwell, a brownfield site in the city centre. It said the plan would bring hundreds of rail jobs to Derby and an estimated £151 million boost to the regional economy.

The decision affects staff who will work at the new organisation, young people looking for a route into skilled work, and passengers who will eventually use a railway run by a single public body.

Great British Railways headquarters confirmed at Becketwell

According to the Department for Transport, building work at Becketwell is expected to begin in early 2027 and be completed by spring 2029. The site will accommodate up to 450 GBR staff. The department said it would be supported by better public transport links and walking routes, delivered with Derby City Council and the East Midlands Combined Authority.

Derbyshire Live reported that Midland House, near Derby station, had also been in serious contention. It said Derby won a public vote against shortlisted locations including Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York, and that a planning application for the office building had been submitted to the city council, which it reported last week. The newspaper described Becketwell as part of a £200 million regeneration scheme.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “The biggest shake-up to our railways in a generation is underway.” Derby City Council leader Nadine Peatfield told Derbyshire Live the move was “fantastic news for our city centre”.

What the GBR apprenticeship scheme offers

The government said up to 600 apprentices aged between 16 and 21 will enrol on the rail foundation apprenticeship over the next four years, with the first starters based in Derby. Foundation apprenticeships combine on-the-job experience with a qualification, and form part of the government’s Youth Guarantee.

Spread evenly, 600 places over four years would mean an average of 150 starters a year. That is our arithmetic, not a government figure, and the places are described as “up to” 600. The scheme is aimed at a workforce with few young people: the government said less than 7% of the railway’s workforce is under 25.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the apprenticeship would give young people the chance to explore career paths in the sector “while earning”. He said it forms part of a £2.5 billion youth employment package creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn. East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward said young people should be able to build careers in the region “without feeling they have to move away”.

Great British Railways: what happens next

The announcement follows a recent £1 billion investment in a new fleet of trains for the north, which the government said will be built at Alstom’s Derby site. It also credited public ownership of operators’ services with fares frozen for the first time in 30 years and 76,000 extra seats a week across the network. Those are government claims, and the sources do not give figures to test them against.

Derbyshire Live reported that GBR will join up the work of several organisations into one body responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the railways, and that the full public ownership programme is expected to finish by the end of 2027. The government has not said in the material published so far when GBR staff will move into Derby. The key dates are below.