A MAJOR speech by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which he will pledge to fund Northern Powerhouse Rail has been hailed as a "seminal moment for the North".

Mr Johnson will give his backing to the trans-Pennine transport link which is intended to help “turbo charge” regional growth, during a speech in Manchester.

The Prime Minister is expected to say: “I want to be the PM who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did with Crossrail in London.

“And today I am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the Leeds to Manchester route.

“It will be up to local people and us to come to an agreement on the exact proposal they want – but I have tasked officials to accelerate their work on these plans so that we are ready to do a deal in the autumn.”

Downing Street said that detailed plans regarding the proposed Manchester to Leeds rail route will be published in the autumn, following a review into HS2.

Mr Johnson will use his speech to state he is committed to “rebalance power, growth and productivity across the UK”.

The PM will also use the address to pledge to “improve the unglamorous local services which people use every day”, such as buses, saying it is about “services within cities, not just services between cities”.

Mr Johnson is expected to say: “I want to help local leaders bring their local services in all our towns and cities up to the standards of the best.

“And I want that to start now, with improvements that can happen in the short term, not just big engineering schemes that will take years.”

Last month, The Northern Echo joined the region’s publishers in calling for investment in the region under the Power up the North campaign. The demands included making Northern Powerhouse Rail a national priority.

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “This is a seminal moment for the North – the entire Northern Powerhouse concept is all about connecting the cities and towns of the North to boost productivity. Northern Powerhouse Partnership has been making a strong case for rebalancing our economy and it is heartening to see the first major policy announcement by the new Prime Minister is to benefit the North – matching the commitment of businesses already investing here.”