Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), sometimes referred to unofficially as High Speed 3, is a proposed major rail programme designed to substantially enhance the economic potential of the North of England. The phrase was adopted in 2014 for a project featuring new and significantly upgraded railway lines in the region. The aim is to transform rail services between the major towns and cities, requiring the region's single biggest transport investment since the Industrial Revolution. The original scheme would have seen a new high-speed rail line from Liverpool to Warrington continuing to join the HS2 tunnel which it would share into Manchester Piccadilly station. From there, the line would have continued to Leeds with a stop at Bradford. The line was intended to improve journey times and frequency between major Northern cities as well as creating more capacity for local service on lines that express services would have been moved out from.
Many Manchester–Leeds trains run via the Huddersfield line/North Transpennine Route.
Railway routes crossing the Pennines include the Hope Valley line/South Transpennine Route (Manchester–Sheffield).
In 2020, TransPennine Express introduced an intercity fleet capable of at least 125 mph (up from current 100 mph) with some capable of travelling at 140 mph with minor modifications to take advantage of future upgrades (pictured: Class 802 on test at King's Cross station).
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which is under construction in England. The route will be between Handsacre, in southern Staffordshire, and London, with a spur to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain's second purpose-built high-speed railway after High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel. The majority of the project is planned to be completed between 2029 and 2033.
Crewe station looking NE, showing the six converging conventional railway lines in August 2005
Work underway on clearing the site at Birmingham Curzon Street in January 2020
HS2 construction near Leamington Spa in August 2021
Proposed design of HS2 rolling stock by Hitachi and Alstom joint venture