Government hopes to create “northern powerhouse” with transport overhaul worth billions
Chancellor George Osborne is putting forward proposals to completely re-work the north of England's transport system.
Called the Northern Transport Strategy report, he hopes it will lead to a “northern powerhouse”. The government worked with Transport for the North (TfN) to put the plan together.
Costing billions of pounds to implement, the project would introduce better road links between major cities and create billion-pound rail schemes with faster trains.
Sections of the M1, M6 and M62 would be widened, the A1 would be improved and better connections would be created to Manchester Airport.
If it goes ahead, the cities set to benefit from these better connections include Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, and Sheffield.
The introductions would be additional to government's approved plan to create a high-speed HS3 rail link in the north of England.
In the near future, the hope is to speed up the construction of a route between Leeds and Sheffield, and a hybrid bill will be put forward at the next Parliament.