The Transport Secretary has also announced the creation of a ‘GBR Transition Team’ under the leadership of Network Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines to drive forward reforms.

It was put to Grant Shapps at the Conservative party conference that everyone knows the location of the new headquarters will be either York or Crewe. “No, we don’t,” he replied. “York is fantastic, it’s got the railway museum there and Crewe has got famous connectivity.

“But I can think of a lot of other places with a very high reason to think of themselves as a potential headquarters for Great British Railways; everywhere can apply. I’m not ruling anything out.”

Interviewed on stage, Grant Shapps was also asked if the business case for High Speed 2 still stacks up despite a drop in travel demand during the pandemic.

“When the Victorians built the West Coast and East Coast mainlines 150 plus years ago, they didn't know about the Spanish Flu, the First or Second World Wars," he said. "We are not building railways now for next 10 years; we are building for next 100 years."

People, he added, will still want to travel. “Let’s have a long term view and build for the future. I am convinced human beings will want to meet each other.

"Capacity is a necessity,” he continued. “We will not regret expanding our railway network. I think it is a great way to travel and people will be pleased in 100 or 150 years time, (saying) they did for us what the Victorians did for our generation.”

He was asked if the creation of Great British Railways was simply an admission that railway privatisation has not worked.

“No,” came the reply. “Since the railway was privatised, the number of miles travelled has doubled. The last quarter before Coronavirus was the busiest on the railways, so privatisation got us a long way there.”

(Photograph: hxdyl - Shutterstock)