The plan for the new Liverpool-Manchester rail line has been revealed

Mr Burnham said the mayors had been given confirmation that £17bn of public funding, which was to be used for HS2, was still available to “deliver this new railway”.

However, he added that the funds are only a “starting point” and the board will also seek private investment.

“The economy gets bigger if you build the railroad the right way,” he said.

“It’s going to be a really exciting project to work on, and that was always supposed to be a step up, wasn’t it?

“This is us doing it for ourselves, setting our own ambition, where we hope the UK government will allow us, so finally, after all the pain of the rail debate, we’ve sort of arrived at the right station “.

Manchester Airport managing director and rail board member Chris Woodroofe said the new line would help more people “experience the benefit of a direct high-speed connection to a major international airport”.