A government-commissioned report says the alternative to a new HS2 high speed rail link would see 14 years of weekend route closures and longer journeys.
The report, by Network Rail and Atkins, says upgrading existing rail lines would severely affect the East Coast, Midland and West Coast mainlines.
It says that would double travel times between Leeds and London.
The study will inform the government's updated business case for HS2, expected to be published this week.
HS2, which is designed to shorten journey times between London and the Midlands and the north of England, has attracted stiff opposition from some quarters because of doubts that the cost - last estimated at £42.6bn - will bring sufficient benefit.
Those living along its route also fear the disruption it will bring to their areas.
I've managed to get hold of this small taster of what's in tomorrow's new official business case for HS2.
I understand it will say that beefing up the UK's three main north-south train lines, instead of building a new one, will cost about half as much, but will cause years of weekend travel chaos.
And it will only add about a quarter of the extra seats provided by HS2.
There's a lot riding on the government's business case tomorrow. It'll be the fifth one since the scheme began.
The last four have been ridiculed by critics for using flimsy assumptions and 12-year-old data.
Conservative backbench MPs, some of whose constituencies are affected, may vote against the project.
'Hellish'The report says that, in total, improving the existing lines, a plan seen by some as a better use of public money, would require 2,770 weekend closures involving 144,000 hours of work.
The BBC's transport correspondent, Richard Westcott, says he has been told it would cost £20bn to upgrade the UK's three existing north-south train lines.
Modelling a typical weekend, the report argues that the journey time from London to Leeds could be increased by two hours and 10 minutes to more than four and a half hours while the work is going on.
A journey between Huntingdon and Peterborough would be doubled to an hour.
Atkins has also concluded that residential and commercial demolitions would be required.
A government source said: "We need to do something because our railways are nearly full, but the alternative to HS2 is a patch and mend job that would cause 14 years of gridlock, hellish journeys and rail replacement buses.
"The three main routes to the north would be crippled and the economy would be damaged."
On Sunday, the Treasury Minister, Danny Alexander, told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme that he was "very confident" the HS2 high-speed rail project would be delivered within its £42.6bn budget.
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