A long-awaited upgrade for trains between Manchester and York via Leeds and Huddersfield will have its budget tripled, the government has announced. The Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will slash journey times and fully electrify lines, will be worth up to £11.5bn when it is done in the next 15 years.
The plans are also set to cut carbon emissions by up to 87,000 tons per year. It comes after the new Northern Powerhouse Rail route was scaled back last year as the government committed to spending more on existing lines instead.
But local leaders are still calling for more railway investment in the North of England, including an underground high-speed rail train station at Piccadilly. They claim the current plans for trains to travel on concrete viaducts across East Manchester would rob the region's economy of £333m a year by 2050.
