Saturday morning saw Boris Johnson announce that he wants to be the Prime Minister “who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did for Crossrail in London”. He added that the first phase from Leeds to Manchester is “just the beginning of our commitment and our investment” and that it will be “up to local people to decide what comes next”.

Officials have been tasked with accelerating plans for the railway ahead of a deal in the autumn, he added. “We want to inject some pace into this, so that we can unlock jobs and boost growth.”

Transport for the North chief executive Barry White described the Prime Minister’s announcement as “a major leap forward for the north”, but added that any agreement later this year “must include funding commitments for work on the whole network” from Liverpool to Hull and from Sheffield to Newcastle.

National Infrastructure Commission chair Sir John Armitt said that travellers in the north have been “crying out for a serious upgrade to their inter city rail network” and added that the announcement must be integrated with plans for High Speed 2 and “matched with devolved funding and powers for city leaders in the north”.

Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said that passengers will welcome investment on the Trans-Pennine rail route that will “enable more people to choose sustainable travel in future”.

But the Labour Party’s Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said what is really needed is a comprehensive ‘Crossrail for the North’ plan to “unleash the economic potential” of the region. “Just upgrading the rail between Leeds and Manchester – the same distance as the Central Line on the London Underground – just won’t achieve that,” he remarked.

Labour also said that Boris Johnson has a “disastrous record” on delivering infrastructure projects, citing the failed Garden Bridge and Thames Estuary Airport schemes he backed when London Mayor.

Boris Johnson’s speech on Saturday also included a pledge to improve buses in the north, by working with Greater Manchester’s Mayor to deliver higher frequency services and more bus priority corridors through the introduction of new partnerships between public and private sectors.

The Prime Minister also set out plans for a £3.6Bn Towns Fund to support improved transport and broadband connectivity in 100 locations; which follows on from the promise of a Stronger Towns Fund launched by the former PM in March.

(Photograph: R/DV/RS and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)