The UK should expand rail network in the north of England instead of the south-east, a group of MPs said in a report.

The transport select committee recommended that investment should be shifted from south-east to Sheffield and Manchester in the north-west.

Speaking on the issue, committee's chairman Louise Ellman said, “Investments made now or in the near future should reflect long-term needs of the economy and society.”

According to the report, after 2014, attention should be paid to remove capacity constraints around Manchester and the government should also widen electrification of its railway network.

The report emphasized that spending on high-speed rail links must not detract from investment in the existing network.