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George Osborne: "I think it is the engine for growth in the north and the midlands"
Details of the next phase of the £32bn HS2 high-speed rail network have been unveiled by the government.
The preferred route of phase two running northwards from Birmingham will have five stops at: Manchester; Manchester Airport; Toton in the East Midlands; Sheffield; and Leeds.
Chancellor George Osborne said it was "the engine for growth in the north and the midlands of this country".
Phase one's London-Birmingham link has faced considerable opposition.
Critics dispute the economic case, arguing that it ignores passengers' ability to work on trains, and suggest swathes of picturesque countryside will be blighted by the railway.
Mr Osborne's Tatton constituency in Cheshire is among the places that phase two of the route will pass through.
The chancellor said: "As a country you have got to make those long-term choices.
"If our predecessors hadn't decided to build the railways in the Victorian times, or the motorways in the middle part of the 20th Century, then we wouldn't have those things today.
"You have got to commit to these projects even though they take many years."
The Department for Transport said that HS2 phase two would virtually halve journey times between Birmingham and Manchester - to 41 minutes - and between London and Manchester from two hours and eight minutes to one hour and eight minutes.
Analysis
Seven months is ever such a long time in politics.
Last summer there were rumours that HS2 was about to be quietly ditched. A Tory minister told a magazine that the project was "effectively dead" because George Osborne was going cold on the whole idea.
Today, George Osborne will be all over your telly telling you HS2 is going to transform the economy, heal the north-south divide and help set us on the fast-track back to growth and prosperity.
This "dead" project is now back at the heart of the government's growth agenda; in a bid to convince voters that there is an ambitious plan to help rebalance and boost our sickly economy.
But there are still plenty of critics who claim the government's economic case for building a super-fast train line simply doesn't stack up. And that there are far better ways of spending £33bn to stimulate growth.
Speeds of up to 250mph on HS2 will also reduce a Birmingham to Leeds journey from two hours to 57 minutes, while phase one will cut London-Birmingham travel to 49 minutes, from the current one hour and 24 minutes.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "It's not just about journey times, it is also about capacity.
"We are finding the railways are overcrowded. We've seen massive growth in rail passenger numbers, so this is taking HS2 so it serves the north."
He added: "This is the first railway to be built north of London for 120 years."
Leeds City Council leader Keith Wakefield said: "We have lobbied long and hard for a high-speed rail link to Leeds and this is excellent news.
"It will strengthen Leeds' position as the northern transport hub and unlock major investment, jobs opportunities and connectivity to the rest of the country."
A final route for phase two is expected to be chosen by the end of 2014.
A proposed spur to Heathrow Airport has been put on hold pending a review of UK aviation policy, due to report in 2015.
'Fundamentally flawed'"Start Quote
End Quote Nick Clegg Deputy prime ministerWe can't keep relying on Victorian infrastructure for 21st Century Britain"
More than 70 groups oppose HS2. StopHS2 has argued that England's north and Midlands will lose out to London, rather than benefit, and that projections do not take into account competition from conventional rail.
Penny Gaines, chairwoman of Stop HS2, said: "We are firmly of the opinion that the whole HS2 project is fundamentally flawed.
"It should be cancelled as soon as possible so that we can concentrate on developing the transport infrastructure that will bring more benefits to more people than a fast train for fat cats."
Other opponents object on the grounds that HS2 will cut through picturesque countryside, and 18 councils along the route have said taxpayers cannot afford the line, and that it will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "We have to move with the times as a country. We can't keep relying on Victorian infrastructure for 21st Century Britain.
"We can't keep turning a blind eye to the north-south divide in our economy. That is what this high-speed project is all about.
"Of course there'll be people who don't like one or other aspect of it but if we really want to build for the future, so that our children and grandchildren have a future fit for the 21st Century, we've got to get moving."
Construction on the Y-shaped extension could start in the middle of the next decade, with the line open by 2032-33.
Construction of the London-West Midlands route is expected to begin around 2017, once Parliament has approved the necessary powers, probably in 2015.
'Timetable slipping'Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle told Sky News that Labour put forward such a high-speed route from London via Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds when it was in office - but the new proposals left some issues unresolved.
"I do have some concerns. One is that we appear to be missing our major cities, and connectivity is actually important. And secondly, the government appear to be retreating from connecting it to our major hub airport, Heathrow."
She earlier said that Labour "strongly" supported upgrading the rail network, to provide greater capacity and reduced journey times.
"However, there are worrying signs that the Department for Transport's timetable to deliver this vital infrastructure is slipping and we believe ministers should be working more vigorously to ensure the proposals are delivered on time."
Details of the consultation on HS2 Ltd's proposed exceptional hardship scheme for phase two are also being published.
The consultation on HS2 Ltd's property and compensation for phase one is due to close on 31 January.
It includes a hardship scheme for residents who need to move during the development of HS2, but are unable to sell their home, and measures designed to "provide confidence in properties above tunnels".
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