IMPROVED transport connections between the North-East and North-West are just as important as the proposed new North-South HS2 high speed train link, the boss of Northern rail has said.

Andy Hynes was speaking on a debate on transport infrastructure at the UK Northern Powerhouse conference, where he was joined by other industry experts.

He said: “The investment that is going into the rail network during the next few years is only playing catch-up with historical under investment.

“We’ve got HS2 coming, but to have transport help this region work together we need journey times from the North-East to the North-West and vice versa that are as fast as journey times North-South.”

Mr Hynes, who is managing director of the Arriva-run rail franchise, said an extension to HS2 – which currently goes no further north than Leeds – was required, “but that’s not funded, there is no plan” and work was required to develop a plan and get it funded.

He said the North was competing for resources with other parts of the country and “we need to be at the table making our case for even more”.