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HS2 and Network Rail have been commissioned to work up plans for improved east-west rail links in the north before the end of the year, in the wake of Sir David Higgins鈥� report into the north-south high speed line.

One of Higgins鈥� key recommendations was that the construction of the second phase of HS2 - a 鈥淵鈥� from Crewe to both Manchester and Leeds - be considered alongside further improvements to trans-Pennine connections linking Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Hull.

Responding to Higgins鈥� report today, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he had asked both HS2 and Network Rail to make recommendations for changes to the existing network before the government responds to the current consultation on the second phase of HS2.

The government is expected to respond before the end of the year.

The move is a bid to address critics of HS2, who have said that improving north-south connections will simply boost the London economy, and that northern cities would benefit more from greater  connections to each other.

Higgins鈥� report in effect calls for both to be prioritised.

Speaking to 好色先生TV, Higgins rejected the idea that developing better east-west links could add both time and effectively cost to the project, saying there was time in the parliamentary timetable, and that the costs would be covered by re-prioritising plans for the 拢20bn of Network Rail enhancements planned between 2019 and 2029.

He said: 鈥淭he legislation is not going to be put into Parliament for phase two until 2017 anyway - so they鈥檒l have to start preparing the documentation from mid 2015. We have basically a year between now and the start of the documentation of the 鈥榊鈥� [phase two of the line] to get that right.

鈥淚s it going to be more money? We know money鈥檚 going to be spent on the existing network anyway. Ironically [the time] when the second bill is lodged in parliament, is the same time that the strategic business plan for Network Rail has to be lodged for Control Period six (CP6).

鈥淚鈥檓 just saying tie those things together, because you are going to spend the money anyway - but where? - and make sure they complement each other.鈥�

Leader of Manchester council Sir Richard Leese endorsed Higgins鈥� plan, while admitting a huge amount of work needed to be done to cost further improvement to trans-Pennine connections. He said: 鈥淎 lot of people of limited ambition have been saying that instead of HS2 we should be spending more on east-west connections.

I would say very strongly it鈥檚 not an either or - you need to do both that and HS2, and do it in an integrated way.鈥�

Despite recent improvement to east-west links in the north, including the electrification of the Leeds-Manchester line, northern cities say further improvements are needed to remove network bottlenecks and add more rolling stock able to take advantage of the electrification.

Leese said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone knows the full cost of these projects. So that鈥檚 a challenge for us, those of us in the north need to cost them and scope them.鈥�

He added the boost to Manchester鈥檚 economy from HS2 would create up to 60,000 jobs in the city.

As well as recommending further improvements in the north, Higgins鈥� report also recommended cutting the proposed 拢700m link with HS1 from the project, and a more comprehensive redevelopment of Euston station, with the additional costs paid for by private developers. He also called for the timing of the construction of phase two to be brought forward by three years to 2030, and for phase one to extend as far as Crewe.

McLoughlin has already endorsed the cutting of the HS2-HS1 link and the extension of the first phase to Crewe. Higgins did not recommend any overall cuts to the budget of the programme, saying that any savings should be retained as contingency, given the continued political uncertainty over the exact route and timings.