GEORGE OSBORNE has held out the prospect of a super fast highspeed rail link between Manchester and Leeds (Echo, June 24).

The new line would smash through the Pennines, linking communities and transforming the north (once again) into the ‘economic powerhouse’ of Britain – at a cost billions of pounds.

Of course there’s no real plan for any of this – no timetable except some time ‘over the rainbow.’ What astonished me was that northern politicians and business people commented on the chancellor’s statement as if the plan was imminent.

The Northern Chamber of Commerce gave it a cautious welcome even though it may never happen, and almost certainly not in our lifetime.

Further ‘up north’ people between Carlisle and Newcastle – or maybe even Lancaster and Darlington – expressed dismay that they weren’t being promised the chance to travel on a highspeed rail link, when they were dead.

The Hexham MP, Guy Opperman, heralded the non-announcement as some sort of good news for all of us – although any fantasy line would be around 100 miles south of his constituency.

Meanwhile, in the real world, we still have clapped out trains trundling around the North-East.

These trains are so old that they bring a whole new meaning to the term heritage railways.

The first train from Carlisle to Newcastle leaves at 06.25 and staggers, exhausted, into Newcastle Central at around 8am – 1hr 35 minutes to travel around 58 miles. Not exactly a high speed rail commute Mr Osborne, but the scenery is spectacular.

Craig Johnston, RMT regional organiser. Ormesby.