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The opening of a Birmingham to Crewe HS2 rail link will open in 2027, a full six years ahead of schedule it has been announced.

Chancellor George Osborne is bringing forward the opening of phase 2a of HS2 to 2027, just a year after phase one, between London and Birmingham Curzon Street Station opens.

The move is designed to slash journey times and deliver economic benefits to the Northern Powerhouse cities sooner than planned and it is claimed it will deliver a boost to the Midlands.

Once complete, HS2 will mean journey times fall by an hour from London to Manchester, by 53 minutes from London to Glasgow and by 65 minutes from Birmingham to Leeds.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "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.”

The Government has launched a compensation and assistance consultation for property owners on the route confirmed today between Fradley, in the West Midlands, and Crewe, with proposals that go well beyond what is required by law.

HS2 had to pay six Staffordshire families up to £4,000 each in compensation after failing to consult properly over the route.

The department for transport has also published a new document called 'High Speed Two: East and West - The next steps to Crewe and Beyond' which sets out the route decision on the Crewe link and the next steps. The plan is for the Y-shaped network to split north of Birmingham into lines serving Manchester in one direction and Leeds and Sheffield in the other.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "This is another significant milestone in the development of Britain's high-speed rail network.

"By accelerating the second phase between Birmingham and Crewe, we will bring the capacity, connectivity and regeneration benefits of HS2 to the North West and Scotland years earlier than originally planned.

"It has also been very gratifying, as we develop the plans for phase two, to see a consensus grow among the city regions in the East Midlands and Yorkshire on the siting of future hub stations at Toton and Leeds city centre respectively.

"We all recognise the huge contribution this infrastructure investment can make in helping to rebalance our economy."

The announcement was coupled with the unveiling of a new deal for transport in the north of England and Manchester - which has been very much at the centre of government devolution policy.

Director general of the CBI John Cridland has today been unveiled as the first chairman of Transport for the North, a new body created to help transform transport connectivity across the north of the country.