http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42647781Whether it's brake lights on the M62 as far as the eye can see or standing room only on crammed trains, commuting between cities is an often painful experience in the north of England. As campaigners set out their vision to revolutionise northern travel, what is the daily reality for those struggling to get to work?
Hop on a train from Manchester to London and you can be walking out of Euston station in little more than two hours.
Yet attempt a journey from Liverpool to Hull - half the distance of a jaunt to the capital - and it will take you three.
While links between the two coastal cities may be changed by Northern Powerhouse Rail - dubbed HS3 - commuters say travel between the east and west is a daily, and at often times, interminable grind.
They cite late, slow, outdated trains which offer poor value for money, where in some cases if you miss one service you can be waiting an hour for the next - if it is running at all.
By road, things are scarcely better. At rush hour on the trans-Pennine M62, the road heaves with cars often blighted by poor visibility and freezing temperatures. Add an accident or road works to the mix and what should be an hour's journey between Manchester and Leeds can take several.
As Transport for the North reveals its 30-year, £70bn plan for transforming routes between the cities, improvements cannot come soon enough for some.
