Could Motherwell be the headquarters for a new UK-wide railway company?

North Lanarkshire Council thinks it could and has entered the town into a national competition to this end.

The company, called Great British Railways is being established by the UK Government to serve as the single accountable public body to manage both railway tracks and trains.

And, as part of this change, the UK Government has announced a competition to find a home for the Great British Railways headquarters and crucially this must be outside of London.

Councillor Paul Kelly, Depute Leader of North Lanarkshire Council believes Motherwell is perfectly placed to host Great British Railways' headquarters.

Councillor Kelly said: “I'm delighted to announce that North Lanarkshire will enter that competition in a bid to bring the headquarters to Motherwell.

“The town is at the heart of Scotland's rail network and has outstanding connectivity to Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“We have a highly skilled workforce and, with one of the fastest-growing economies in the country, we're ambitious in attracting further investment

“Our expression of interest will be considered by the UK Government before they announce their shortlist in May.”

Work is of course already well underway to considerably improve Motherwell Railway station and transform it into a major UK transport interchange.This aims to vastly improve connectivity for all modes of transport – rail, bus, cycling, taxis and cars – as well as pedestrians.

Access to the station will be expanded, developing the station facilities for all rail travellers, complementing the major improvement works within the station itself.

There will be more room for buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians, putting Motherwell firmly on the map as a transport interchange, as well as opening up access to Motherwell town centre.

It’s thought that this too is a major selling point for the location of the new headquarters which is already attracting bids from elsewhere in the UK.