ANDY Burnham has condemned the government’s decision to back a multibillion-pound Crossrail 2 scheme for London just days after announcing that railway electrification plans for the North of England and Wales are being cut.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said on Monday that he would work with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to ensure Crossrail 2, the proposed north-south rail line running across London between Hertfordshire and Surrey, was ‘fair to the UK taxpayer’.

The announcement prompted the Greater Manchester mayor to say on Twitter: “On Friday, Tories say they can’t afford rail schemes in the North. On Monday, they find billions more for London. Are these two things linked?”

The Labour mayor added: “This statement from the Transport Secretary will cause widespread anger across the North of England.

“With every day that passes the promise of a Northern Powerhouse becomes ever more distant.

“People here have had to put up with sub-standard rail services for decades and will simply not accept that spending billions more on London is the country’s highest priority for transport investment.”