I think one additional thing that should be addressed is the lack of connectivity between Cheshire and Yorkshire. At present, going from Leeds to Crewe, two of the largest stations in the north is extremely long and involves a change in Manchester, sometimes crossing the city. I would therefore like (once this is eventually implemented) for the following services to operate on the line:
2ph Crewe HS2, Manchester Airport HS2, Manchester Piccadilly Low Level, Bradford New Station, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle
2ph Liverpool, Warrington, Crewe HS2 (new link)
2ph Liverpool, Warrington, Manchester Airport HS2 (new link), Manchester Piccadilly Low Level, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle
2ph Liverpool, Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, Bradford, Leeds, Hull
2ph Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield
2ph Manchester Piccadilly, Huddersfield, Leeds, Hull
2ph Leeds, Sheffield
2ph Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Sheffield
*These services are in addition to the proposed timetabling for HS2 (4ph Manchester High Level-London, 3ph Manchester High Level-Birmingham, 4ph Leeds HS2-London, 3ph Leeds HS2-Birmingham)
This would therefore provide services across the North, connecting to HS2 services, and providing faster links between cities as well as serving junction stations at Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds to provide links to other routes. As the new route states it can run 8 trains an hour, I think these services could be achievable