The government has launched a £600 million investment programme to improve the railway in the north of England.

It is hoped the funds will boost the area's economy by providing faster and more reliable connections between towns and cities. The Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the scheme as construction began on a new fourth platform at Manchester Airport.

Overall, more than £1 billion will be spent to update the railway in the north by 2019. It will work alongside plans to electrify the network and will see 700 more trains running each day, providing extra capacity for 44 million additional passengers.

Alex Hynes, managing director of Northern Rail, commented: "The development at Manchester Airport will mean more reliable connections between rail and air, offering more opportunities to our customers to travel through Britain and beyond the north of England."

Construction of the new platform will take place between March 14th and April 7th, and will see the railway close for two weekends. It is expected the works will also disrupt the local road network, though diversions will be clearly marked.