THE Government has knocked back a bid by Barrow's MP to bring a national rail headquarters to the town.

Simon Fell urged the Government to consider bringing the Great British Railways HQ to the Barrow, calling the town the 'true home of British rail'.

Barrow was snubbed as the final shortlist of locations or the headquarters was announced.

The bid was not backed by Barrow Council, which questioned whether the town met the required criteria.

Reacting to the announcement, Mr Fell said: "It's very disappointing but I can't say I'm surprised.

"Even though we put together a really compelling bid and had wide community support, given that Barrow Council refused to support our application it was never going to make it to the next round.

"Regardless, I'm not going to stop fighting for opportunities like these to come to Furness."

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and York are all in the running.

GBR will be a new public sector body which will oversee Britain’s railways.

Some 42 cities and towns came forward to place bids to be the home of GBR HQ.

Applications were measured against key criteria, including public transport connectivity, railway heritage, value for money and 'alignment to levelling up objectives'.

An online public vote on the six shortlisted locations for its headquarters has been opened.

The outcome will 'play a crucial role' but the final decision will be made by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps later this year, according to the DfT.

Barrow Council leader Ann Thomson outlined why the authority did not put forward a bid earlier this year.

She said: "It's right to say that Barrow is very proud of its railway heritage. But put simply, the town does not meet the Government's own criteria for the Great British Railways HQ competition - something that was confirmed in writing to Simon Fell when he suggested it in February.

"We are confused as to why he chose to develop a bid on his own after this point when bids can only be put forward by local authorities.

"It would be wrong and irresponsible for the council to pursue a costly and time-consuming submission that we don't meet the entry criteria for at the expense of our residents in Barrow."