Osborne plans northern 'HS3'

摘要

Infrastructure Chancellor George Osborne has announced plans for a high-speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds. The vision forms part of wider proposals to create 'a northern powerhouse' to counterbalance the southern bias of the UK economy. The east-west line, dubbed HS3, has been estimated to cost about £7 billion and could be rolled up into phase two of the £50 billion HS2 project. The chancellor said: 'We need to think big. We need an ambitious plan to make the cities and towns here in this northern belt radically more connected from east to west.'