A Bill to extend HS2 from Crewe to Manchester and beyond, creating 17,500 jobs across the North, is to be introduced by the Government today.
If backed, the 'High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill' will allow travel from London to Manchester to be cut by around 55 minutes and Birmingham to Manchester by up to 45 minutes.
The proposed new jobs include hundreds of highly-skilled permanent roles such as at rolling stock depots which would be established north of Crewe as well as in Dumfries and Galloway.
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The HS2 project currently includes new stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport as well as new lines to Leeds and Liverpool as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail.
The Government said part of the new high speed line would help cut journeys from Manchester Piccadilly to Liverpool to 35 minutes and Leeds to Liverpool to around an hour and a quarter.
It added the construction of HS2 to Manchester will allow capacity to double, or more, on the routes between Manchester and London/Birmingham.
When Northern Powerhouse Rail is completed, similar capacity increases to Leeds and Liverpool will follow.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "We are determined to improve transport connections and level up communities across the country and this Bill marks a landmark moment as we bring HS2 to Manchester and lay the foundations for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
"Our £96bn investment in rail in the North and Midlands and in connecting them to London will bring communities together, create thousands of jobs and make towns and cities in these key areas more attractive to business up to 10 years quicker than under any previous plans.
"The IRP is the blueprint for the government’s commitment to building better transport links, generating prosperity and opportunity across the North and Midlands bringing benefits up to 10 years sooner than previously planned, all while delivering on levelling up the country."
Published last year, the Integrated Rail Plan was criticised by Andy Burnham, Steve Rotheram and business leaders from across the North West.
Mr Rotheram said the plan could have been announced by Victorian Prime Minister William Gladstone while Mr Burnham acknowledged that Manchester "will benefit more" from the plan but that he was standing with the rest of the North of England "because we are one North".
On today's announcement, HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson added: "We have time and time again proven our commitment to improving transport connections throughout the North and levelling up communities in the process.
"Today marks the next chapter in achieving this; fulfilling the promises in our £96bn Integrated Rail Plan to shorten journey times, provide reliable and sustainable services, while supporting local services and delivering a modern, fully connected transport network fit for the future even sooner."
The Bill will also include a new junction near Crewe to improve future services on the route and also give the town the potential to be a hub station in mid-Cheshire able to accommodate more trains.
Clare Hayward, chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "Ensuring all of Cheshire and Warrington is properly connected to the rest of the North West and the country as a whole, and delivering an integrated sustainable transport solution, is vital in ensuring our continued economic growth and delivering on our net zero ambitions.
"High speed links to the airport, and Manchester beyond are a key part of this, providing easy access to good employment opportunities as well as ensuring our vital industries, including net zero, are easily accessible and properly joined up to important infrastructure.
"Crewe has a proud rail heritage and has long been seen as the gateway to the north and today’s announcement is an important step in it continuing to be so.
"I look forward to seeing the project progress and come to fruition, providing economic benefits to all our area and the people that live here."
Chris Fletcher, marketing and campaigns director, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, added: "Phase 2b of HS2 will be transformative for Greater Manchester and the wider North West.
"The benefits of delivering HS2 in full are many: it will promote economic growth, trigger business investment, unlock labour markets and enable regeneration of areas that desperately need 'levelling up'.
"The additional rail capacity HS2 will deliver could allow more rail freight and contribute to the attainment of net zero goals by reducing congestion on the roads. HS2, therefore, is not merely about reducing travel times.
"It is an essential part of 'levelling up' and Greater Manchester Chamber welcomes further progress on HS2."
