A trail of two cities - three hours by tram, train and bus

Video report by Andrew Fletcher

They are two great cities in the North, once bases for the Industrial Revolution.

But political and business leaders in Greater Manchester and Leeds have repeatedly warned that their economies are being held back by poor transport links.

Our reporter Andrew Fletcher made the journey himself starting at ITV's offices in Salford and heading for our base in Leeds. He spoke to fellow travellers on the way.

The government insists it is delivering on promises to improve links with the Northern Powerhouse rail plan, reducing the journey from almost three hours to 30 minutes.

But opposition MPs and business leaders say the plans are downgraded and won't improve economic conditions in the region.

Andrew managed to do the whole journey in two hours and forty five minutes.

By car it would take one and a half hours.