TWO York area MPs have repeated calls for central government to set up the new headquarters of Great British Railways in the city.

York Outer's Julian Sturdy and Selby and Ainsty's Nigel Adams wrote in the Times newspaper on Thursday, adding to widespread support for the proposal from York politicians, business leaders and others.

The MPs said basing the HQ in York, which aims to simplify the running of the rail sector "would be a very tangible step in levelling-up the areas of Yorkshire left behind in decades of London-centric policy making."

They cited York's "150 years of unmatched railway heritage and pride" plus modern day companies including Siemens Mobility, Atkins, Arup, Arcadis and Mott MacDonald.

"By centring GBR in York, this solid position can be developed to a truly globally competitive level."

The MPs also cited York's National Railway Museum as encouraging the exploration of rail, plus the city's transport links to the rest of the UK.

Basing the HQ in York would be 'excellent value for money for the taxpayer', with Network Rail already owning most of the land proposed for the site, next to the station, either in the existing York rail sector campus of buildings or on the York Central regeneration site.

The move was also popular locally, they said in the article, that is also posted on Mr Sturdy's website.