Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

• Roshan, Leeds

  I wonder if the TransPennine route could be upgraded to 250km/h using ERTMS and track upgrades etc. A Northern Belt route including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and perhaps Hull which utilises fast electric trains would be great.

• JF, Leeds

  This has a whiff of pre-election kite-flying rather than a practical costed proposal, as is talk of crossrail to Hertfordshire. I doubt the government would be truly committed to such ideas, but pretending to be might garner a few more votes in places that matter.
  
  I wonder if there might be scope for re-use of Gildersome tunnel on the Leeds new line as part of an upgraded transpennine route? They'd have to dig out a lot of colliery spoil from the west end, but that'd probably be easier than a new bore. It's on a fairly direct line although the route beyond this to the west was a bit wiggly.
  
  

• Mark Allan, Southport

  All jam tomorrow. Show me the money and I'll believe you until then it's electioneering with one eye on May next year.
  
  (Surely not electioneering on this occasion -- these proposals have not come from central Government.--Editor.)

• Stephen Bird, Dewsbury

  The current Leeds - Manchester route has great potential to be converted to medium high speed - 250kmh (150mph): Any other route would require higher speeds because of the greater distance - and fail to connect the highly populated areas.
  
  1/ A new 1.2km tunnel under Huck Hill (moving Marsden station to Tunnel End, perhaps reopening Diggle Station & using the central single Standedge tunnel bore for slow/returning trains in either direction, with the North & South Standedge bores being high speed single track.)
  
  2/ From Morley tunnel a slight curve across the White Rose Shopping Centre on a new viaduct could cross into a old alignment in Beeston Park Side (now gardens), then round to via Hunslet into the new High Speed station (20mins to Meadowhall?) & the current Woodlesford line to Leeds City. Station.
  
  3/ On the Lancashire side, perhaps the old alignment thru Greenfield could be re-jigged before crossing the river north of Mossley to join the existing route into Stalybridge.
  
  Several other places would require work to reduce line curvature: - but there is plenty of space in most places and only a few businesses/homes would require relocation to get Leeds-Manchester down to 30mins or less.
  
  The key being getting the Huddersfield to Stalybridge time down to as near as 10 minutes as possible.

• MikeB, Liverpool

  Back in the late 1960s, apart from the Euston to Liverpool/Manchester electrification, the North was still relying on pre-war steam locomotives for many services, whereas other Regions had moved on to modern diesel power. Things have not changed!
  
  (Hmm. Not many steam locomotives were left -- pre or post-war builds -- by the time the WCML electrification was completed to the north west in 1966. Out of roundly 20,000 in 1948 by the end of 1966 there just 1,689 still on the BRB's books. Indeed, the last BR steam locomotive [on standard gauge] was withdrawn from service in 1968.--Editor.)

• Tony Pearce, Reading

  Things take longer in Britain because we are so densley poulated. Inside the M25 circle is the most densley Populated Section of Europe. And because we are a very small island growing less than 60% of the food we eat, we have a lot of competing demands on land. Development in the North is probably a good idea, and may stop the South becoming even more crowded.

• Chris Neville-Smith, Durham, England

  Right, I've had a first look at the report and these are four interesting highlights I've noticed:
  
  * Their "HS3" idea seems to be a line that would serve both Manchester-Leeds and Manchester-Sheffield, rather than just the former.
  
  * They think that there is a capacity case as well as speed. Not scrutinised this claim yet, but they seem to be arguing that the capacity improvements from the Northern Hub won't be enough.
  
  * They want the Leeds=Sheffield leg of HS2 brought forward.
  
  * They also advocate a new line between Darlington and Newcastle. That's an interesting idea, but I'd want to check how that affects Durham before I support that.
  
  Still a long way from a concrete proposal though. I suspect that they're deliberately avoiding anything that would give away clues as to whose houses would be near the line.
  
  And the anti crowd currently seem to want to have their cake and eat it, flitting between opposing HS3 because it's high speed rail, and suggesting that they'd like HS3 - but only if it's done instead of HS2.

• Dave Graham, Leeds

  I agree with the rolling stock. Northern Rail seems to get lumbered with old units. It feels like the poor man's railway sometime.

• hugo rogers, newbury

  i wonder if the wood head route would b reopened?

• John Gilbert, Cradley, Herefordshire

  It is of course logical and therefore a very good idea. But let these plans not disrupt the current plans to electrify the trans-Pennine route via Diggle, as politicians may try to do. (It's called "kicking it into the long grass!") Also one has to reflect, this being the UK and not France or Germany where they get things done qujckly, just how long these ideas will take to bring to completion. It's very easy to talk the talk, but walking the walk - ah, that's something different in the UK! So a very long time indeed I fear. One can but hope. But watch those politicians!