Northern politicians continue push for improved rail plan

Andy Burnham warned plans would fail generations to come' as he urged Downing Street to engage in talks

Mayors and council leaders in northern England have refused to give up on a new high speed east-west rail line, calling for talks with the government to discuss alternative funding models.

A meeting of politicians on the board of Transport for the North, the statutory body created to advise the government on the region's transport needs, was held on Wednesday in Leeds . They discussed the announcement by the government of its new integrated rail plan, which has been condemned as a betrayal" of the north.