The ministers were responding to a report by David Higgins, who was asked by the Chancellor how to address poor east-west links in the north, and how to maximise the benefits of HS2. Higgins’ also endorsed the two proposed routes for Phase Two of HS2, joining the London-Birmingham route with spur routes to Manchester and Leeds.
The government, working with Transport for the North (a new, unified transport body for the country’s north), will now produce a comprehensive transport strategy for the region. This will include options, costs and a delivery timetable for a HS3 east west rail connection. An interim report will be produced in March 2015.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "Our northern cities are on the brink of an economic transformation and [the] report underlines how we can secure this by bringing those cities together to maximise the benefits of good transport links."
