A Government decision to abandon a "vital" planned £3bn connection between HS2 and the West Coast Main Line has been slammed by rail industry bodies.
In a joint statement, the Railway Industry Association, Rail Freight Group and High Speed Rail Group said the move to axe the 13-mile Golborne Link in Greater Manchester will lead to a "bottleneck".
The Government has confirmed the link will be removed from the HS2 Phase 2b Bill despite it being included in the Integrated Rail Plan for transforming the rail network in the North and the Midlands.