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Wednesday 3 Sep 2025

Voting opens! Help name new railway training facility in Doncaster

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Coast

Network Rail, in partnership with City of Doncaster Council and the wider rail industry, is calling on members of the public to help name a new railway training facility when it officially opens this October.

The site, in Carolina Way near Lakeside, was once the National College for High Speed Rail.

Network Rail took over the building in late 2024 and since then has been making plans to transform the facility, which will serve as a hub for operational training, education and development for up to 1,000 rail workers from across the industry each year.

Doncaster has a proud railway legacy and now, in this bicentenary anniversary year for the railway, the public has a chance to play a part in its future too, by deciding which of a shortlist of four names will be bestowed upon the training facility.

The final list of name suggestions has been developed in collaboration with City of Doncaster Council and celebrates the city’s rich railway heritage. 

The shortlisted names are:

• Duddington & Bray House - recognising the vital contributions of Doncaster locals Joe Duddington (engine driver) and Tommy Bray (fireman), who achieved a world speed record for steam of 126mph in 1938 with the Mallard locomotive, built in Doncaster.

• Flying Scotsman House - honouring the legendary locomotive built at Doncaster Works in 1923, which became the first steam locomotive officially recorded reaching 100mph and remains one of the most famous trains in the world.

• The Corridor - acknowledging the famous East Coast Main Line corridor – one that runs through Doncaster, connecting London to Scotland.

• The Gresley Institute - in tribute to Sir Nigel Gresley, the brilliant chief mechanical engineer who designed both Mallard and Flying Scotsman at Doncaster Works, revolutionising steam locomotive design.

Voting will officially close at midnight on Thursday 25 September, with the official reveal planned for October.

Click here to vote for your favourite name. 

Laura Smith, Network Rail's programme manager for the new training centre, said: "This facility will allow us to provide top class training to current and future colleagues across the railway industry and builds on Doncaster's proud railway heritage.

"We want the public to help us choose a name that celebrates the city's remarkable railway legacy. It's fitting that during Railway 200, the people of Doncaster and railway enthusiasts everywhere can play a part in continuing the city’s railway story."

The continued use of the site in post-16 education will support Doncaster’s Education and Skills 2030 strategy, opening up opportunities towards local and skilled employment that will benefit Doncaster’s economy. 

Mayor Ros Jones, City of Doncaster Council, said: “It is great to see that this purpose-built site will continue in its intended purpose to train the next generation of skilled people in the rail industry right here in Doncaster. Our education and skills strategy promotes training, learning and excellence and this use of the site underlines our commitment to having sector leading opportunities in the city.

“I would encourage everyone to get behind this facility and take part in this public naming initiative. Our history and legacy in rail is a proud one and its future is certainly bright.”

Click here to vote for your favourite name.