Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the HS2 rail link between Birmingham and Crewe will open in 2027 – six years than earlier planned.
The rail link was due to go from London to Birmingham by 2026, and then reach Manchester and Leeds by 2033.
The new timetable means the second phase of the project will open only a year after the first phase from London to Birmingham is complete.
Once complete, journey times will fall by an hour from London to Manchester, by 53 minutes from London to Glasgow and by 65 minutes from Birmingham Curzon Street to Leeds.
In last week’s Spending Review Osborne set out £55.7 billion for the controversial high-speed rail link – this is an increase of £5.1 billion from last year’s government projections.
Osborne said the news would deliver a huge boost to devolution to the so-called Northern Powerhouse, with increased capacity on the region’s railways.
“In my Spending Review we committed to the biggest rise in transport spending in a generation meaning that major projects like the construction of HS2, to link the Northern Powerhouse to the south, can begin.
“Bringing forward this part of the HS2 route by six years is a massive step in the right direction for the Northern Powerhouse, where high speed rail will play a big role in connecting up the entire region with the rest of the country,” he added.
Osborne also confirmed that ex-head of business organisation the CBI, John Cridland, would chair Transport for the North. He will be charged with improving rail links across the north of England.