An astonishing response has been received to the first round of open competition to select the community that will host the headquarters of Great British Railways – the new overarching body that will administer the infrastructure and running of much of the UK network from 2023. Applications closed on 16 March. From Eastleigh to Edinburgh, a host of late entrants pushed the long list up to 42 candidates, claiming to meet the criteria of prominent railway heritage and meeting the UK government’s desire to ‘level-up’ the national economy.