Rishi Sunak unveiled today unveiled plans for a new 'network north' which he claimed would improve connectivity in the region - after scrapping the northern section of HS2.
After weeks of speculation, Mr Sunak used his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference to finally confirm that the long-standing plans for the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the brand-new high-speed line were being shelved.
However, he pledged that he would 'reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and the midlands, across the country,' including road, rail and bus schemes improvement schemes. READ MORE: Andy Burnham and Northern leaders' last-ditch plan to save HS2 if Rishi Sunak axes Manchester legREAD MORE: The Tories have insulted Greater Manchester again - it all feels very familiar He dubbed the new project 'Network North' and said it would 'join up our great cities in the North and Midlands.' "No government has ever developed a more ambitious scheme for northern transport," he claimed.
Mr Sunak promised train journeys from Manchester on a 'fully electrified line' to a new station in Bradford in 30 minutes, Sheffield in 42 minutes and Hull in one hour and 24 minutes.