UK's Osborne set to give green light for new rail, road projects in Budget

UK Finance Minister George Osborne is expected to accept recommendations from the Infrastructure Commission to build a high speed rail link between the northern cities of Manchester and Leeds, as part of an initial commitment of to £300m for major transport projects in Wednesday's annual Budget.

Other schemes to get the green light will include an 18 mile road tunnel beneath the picturesque Peak District and a north-south London link, known as 'Crossrail 2' to connect the outer London regions of Hertfordshire and Surrey.

In a report released on Tuesday, Infrastructure Commission chairman Andrew Adonis said electrification of the railway line between Manchester and Leeds should be "seen as the first stage on the road" towards Britain's third high speed rail link.

Lord Adonis said electrification of line would bring journey times down to 40 minutes, and then 30 with high speed trains.
"This is going to be a phased approach. It's not going to be one big bang like HS2, which is the creation of a completely new line for nothing," he told the BBC.

"It will be a mixture of improving the current line and stretches of new line to deliver two objectives: big cuts in journey times between the big northern cities, from Liverpool in the west to Hull in the east, and also big improvements in capacity, so you can have much more regular trains as well as faster trains."

“If the north is to become a powerhouse, it has to be better connected. Leeds and Manchester are just 40 miles apart but there is no quick and easy way to travel between the two. In rush hour, it can take more than two hours by car; by train, it can be almost an hour.”