The Guardian - Plan will start with TransPennine upgrade with new line connecting Liverpool and Manchester in second phase. Long-awaited plans for better railways across the north of England have been given government backing with an undertaking to mp;#147;reverse years of chronic underinvestmentmp;#148; by spending up to mp;pound;45bn building Northern Powerhouse Rail.Just over mp;pound;1bn has been allocated to work up a detailed three-stage plan to connect cities from Liverpool to Newcastle, which could fulfil most of the demands of northern leaders, in a series of long-term projects.
