By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent
As bleary eyed passengers boarded the 06.57 train to Leeds at Manchester Piccadilly this morning, most had already heard about plans that could halve their commute between the two northern cities.
It's a popular commuter route and the trains are regular at peak times. In fact, there are no fewer than 12 trains between Manchester and Leeds that reach their destination before nine o'clock in the morning.
Despite that, the 06.57 was less than half full as it pulled away from Manchester on time to begin its scenic route across the Pennines, which currently takes 49 minutes.
On board, Ian Bennett, 45, and from Manchester, described himself as a reluctant commuter. Despite making the journey every day, he is dubious about plans for new investment, dubbed High Speed 3 (HS3), to cut the journey time to less than half an hour.
He told Sky News: "It's under an hour anyway and I think a faster train will cost more than we pay now.
"I already pay nearly £3,000 a year. I wouldn't use it if it was more, definitely not."
Sitting next to him was Kendall Isaac, 44, from Leeds. He travels between Manchester and Leeds about three times a week and said: "I would definitely like faster trains. I'd even be willing to pay a bit more but it would depend how much."
On the seat behind them passenger Frank Taff agreed.
"I'd certainly use it, but it all revolves around how much it costs," he said.
He added that he is happy with the current journey time between Manchester and Leeds, but he would prefer it if his journey on to York was quicker.
As the train pulled in to Leeds (on time at 07:46) passengers quipped that they would be retired by the time HS3 was ready anyway.
But the Government will hope the plan is attractive enough to northern commuters to win some votes in next year's general election.
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