Britain's broken train and bus systems are "costing the North dear" as the region loses out on jobs and economic growth, Labour will warn.
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh will promise to "spark a northern renaissance" by reversing the Tories' betrayal on Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2.
She will vow to "turn the page on a decade of decline" after the country has plunged from 19th to 29th in global rankings for the quality of its rail infrastructure.
According to the World Economic Forum, the UK now sits between India and Kazakhstan.
Speaking at the Transport for the North conference in Newcastle, Ms Haigh will pledge "the next Labour government will lay the foundations for the century ahead and deliver HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full".
"That will help spark a northern renaissance and a business boom," she will say.
"Our broken transport system is costing the North dear. In lost jobs and lost economic growth.
"It should not take 3 hours to travel from Liverpool to Newcastle, almost four to travel from Preston to Hull, half to working day to get from Sunderland to Warrington.
"Business investors from around the world see this, and the chronic delays and overcrowding, and think again."
Ministers have axed plans for the eastern leg of the £106billion HS2 rail line running Leeds - breaking key promises to Red Wall voters.
Hundreds of bus services have been slashed in recent years and the Northern Powerhouse Rail link, dubbed HS3, has been scaled back following years of Tory turmoil.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper is due to speak at today’s conference, where he will face renewed calls to bolster connections to and around the region.
Writing for the Mirror, Northern Powerhouse Partnership director Henri Murison, who will be at the summit, says: “In February 2020, Boris Johnson promised to build Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines and both legs of HS2.
“Three years later, a lot of it has turned out to be empty words.
“The planned new line from Manchester to Leeds will now end at a village in the outskirts of Yorkshire.
“The eastern leg of HS2 has been cancelled to the North, with no alternative even suggested yet.”
During her doomed 49-day premiership, then Prime Minister Liz Truss reinstated pledges to build HS3 in full, linking the North’s six big cities - Newcastle, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool and Manchester Airport.
But, entering No10 in October, Rishi Sunak scrapped that promise as he trashed his predecessor’s legacy and desperately tried to cut costs.
The Government instead said it was “committed” to the Integrated Rail Plan announced in November 2021 - which watered down the NPR scheme and axed HS2’s eastern leg to save cash in favour of a new £96bn upgrade plan.
Mr Murison calls for “no more Johnsonian empty promises – just a proper plan for infrastructure that can power a productive economy”.
Other speakers due to appear at the conference include North of Tyne Metro Mayor Jamie Driscoll, West Yorks Metro Mayor Tracy Brabin, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, Greater Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham and former Transport Secretary Lord Patrick McLoughlin, who chairs Transport for the North.
The Tory peer said: “Having a forum that allows us to speak with one voice on key transport investment decisions made across the region will enable us to better understand the challenges and opportunities ahead, improve decision making resilience, and better inform the case for investment.”
'Please, no more Johnsonian empty promises', Northern Powerhouse Partnership director Henri Murison writes exclusively for the Mirror
Today, I am one of many business and civic leaders, including Transport Secretary Mark Harper, heading to a conference in Newcastle to discuss connecting the North of England.
It’ll be interesting to see how many of us get there on time - or indeed manage to get there by train at all.
A desperate shortage of drivers, combined with the lack of rest day working agreement, has led to a torrid time for rail passengers, for businesses, for the economy over much of the past year - losing us millions every week.
However, if a fair agreement is reached on TransPennine and drivers are once again allowed to do overtime, as I hope, the situation could improve within a matter of days.
But fixing the crisis today is only part of the challenge.
In February 2020, Boris Johnson promised to build Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines and both legs of HS2.
Three years later, a lot of it has turned out to be empty words.
The planned new line from Manchester to Leeds will now end at a village in the outskirts of Yorkshire.
The eastern leg of HS2 has been cancelled to the North, with no alternative even suggested yet.
There was no funding for the vital Leamside Line, which would take freight off the mainline, allowing more passenger trains to Newcastle.
Hull has been left off the map entirely.
The Transport Select Committee agrees with us that these cuts to new lines means we’re left with no solution to the lack of capacity on our rail network either north to south or east to west.
After months of investigation, last July they called on the Government to “revisit the evidence base for the decisions they have reached”.
The chairman of that committee, Huw Merriman, has since been made Rail Minister and is now in the strange position of having to respond to his own challenge to justify the £36billion of cuts by the end of this month.
I’m optimistic he will make the best of the half-baked plan he inherited.
He has already promised a better answer for Bradford, where a new station alongside improved connectivity to Leeds and beyond are vital in themselves.
The campaign for better Northern infrastructure is gaining momentum with his help, alongside our excellent Metro Mayors, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the man the polls indicate she could soon replace, Jeremy Hunt.
They know there is no route to growth and higher productivity without this kind of investment, meaning better buses in the short-term as well as new rail links long-term.
So, please, no more Johnsonian empty promises – just a proper plan for infrastructure that can power a productive economy.
