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More than 20 business leaders have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves urging her to back a new rail line between the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in her Autumn Budget later this month.

The letter outlines a series of requests including establishing a steering group between the private sector and local, regional and national government to push forward with a feasibility study for the scheme.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and his Greater Manchester counterpart Andy Burnham have been working with partners on establishing a business case for a new 50-mile line between Handsacre north of Lichfield and High Legh, ten miles west of Manchester Airport.

Known as 'Midlands-Northwest Rail Link', it was first mooted in February following the announcement at the Conservative Party Conference last year that only phase one of HS2 between Birmingham, Solihull and London would go ahead.

Proposals for phase two included new high-speed lines between Birmingham and the East Midlands and Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly but these were scrapped by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

HS2 trains travelling north will instead now switch to conventional tracks at Handsacre.

There have also been continuing questions over whether phase one of the line would run all the way into London Euston station or switch to conventional tracks at Old Oak Common in West London where a new station is under construction.