Cabinet big guns wheeled out to drive high-speed rail north

Extending the proposed London-West Midlands high-speed rail line on to Manchester and Leeds will drive regeneration and transform travel patterns, says the Government.

All the political heavyweights in the Coalition were on hand last week to unveil the phase two extensions to the Government’s high-speed rail plans that will see trains reach Manchester and Leeds.

At an estimated cost of £16.8bn (2011 prices), phase two will see the 140-mile London-West Midlands phase one route extended with two new lines:

• a 95-mile western route to Manchester that will also provide access to the wider North West and Scotland; and

• a 116-mile eastern...

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