Chancellor George Osborne is visiting Manchester today where he will speak to business leaders and propose a third high speed rail link scheme with better connections between the cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Hull.
Earlier this year Sir David Higgins’ review of phase one of HS2 identified the lack of good connections between the ease and west coasts.
Left: The current proposed phases for HS2
Speaking to the BBC this morning Mr Osborne said that Britain needs to create a “northern powerhouse”.
The chancellor said the plan could cost up to £7bn – but could be cheaper if existing rail lines were updated. He also called for improvements to the road networks and commented that it was not “healthy for our economy, not good for our country” if “the powerhouse of London dominates more and more”.