The BBC has been out and about at Manchester Piccadilly station asking people their views of HS2.

Retired engineer Ron Baldwin had just travelled for nearly two hours from his home in Brough, Cumbria, and said that "yet again, the North seems to be taking a back seat".

He told the BBC: "I am very sceptical that this will ever happen - the costs just seem to be endless.

"They should be putting money into normal trains - I doubt we'll ever see the benefit where I live."

Read about more Manchester views here

HS2 could be "a waste of money", a commuter in Manchester has told the BBC.

At the city's Piccadilly railway station, insurance broker Paul Fletcher said the government "would be far better spending [the money set aside for it] on improving the lines we've already got".

"What a waste of money," he said.

The 49-year-old, who lives in Hyde, Greater Manchester, said he was also concerned about the potential impact on the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail project, which would improve links from between the West and East coasts.

"Who knows what will happen when they review the line to Manchester and Leeds?" he said.

"It seems the North is again getting a raw deal."

Image source, Uk Parliament

More reaction from MPs in the House of Commons.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen, who represents North West Leicestershire, says the decision "adversely affects" his constituents and is "unloved, unwanted and has been grossly mismanaged".

He voices its fears that it could be "an albatross around this government and the country's neck moving forward" and sets the bar "very low for the future delivery of infrastructure projects on time and on budget by all future governments".

Today's HS2 decision has certainly stirred up the passions of Business Live readers.

"I am appalled at this decision," says Joanne Murray. "In one breath the government whinges about how skint the country is, despite making cutbacks to valuable resources such as policing on the streets, health care services etc, then in the next breath they say they're ploughing through potentially areas of outstanding natural beauty to build a railway line! How can Mr Johnson justify this decision?"

Steve Linnell's concerns are practical. "Does anyone have any idea of the cost of a ticket yet?" he asks. "We all know how much HS2 is going to cost, if not more, so surely someone has an idea of how much a ticket is going to be."

Meanwhile James Menzies echoes lots of readers' anger by asking: "Thought we were all one country? Why is it stopping at Birmingham?"

Of course, it will eventually (by 2040) be extended to Leeds, Manchester, Wigan and Crewe as our route map (below) shows.

Henri Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, says having an "integrated high-speed network North to South and East to West" is "the best way to rebalance our national economy".

He called for a "joined up new and upgraded railway for the North", linking HS2 with Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Murison says: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity; to create a truly balanced Britain that works for everyone.

"Integrating HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail is the first step – a bold, decisive, forward-looking step that I am heartened the government has finally chosen to take as politicians across both major parties here in the North have campaigned with us for.”

As plans for HS2 are confirmed, homes in Burton Green will be bulldozed to make way for the track.

"There are not many elements of HS2 I'm not familiar with," Burton Green resident Chris Langton says.

Over the past decade, Mr Langton, who has lived there for 37 years, has made it his business to know the ins and outs of the impact of HS2 on his community.

But today he was resigned to the fact the project will be going ahead, effectively bisecting the Warwickshire village.

Mr Langton estimates he could lose up to £100,000 if he sells his home, with no guarantee HS2 will buy it and property values at risk of decreasing.

He had hoped the government would decide to scrap the line and now feels that Boris Johnson was "not brave enough to make the sensible decision".

Image source, Getty Images

British Steel could be one of the beneficiaries of HS2, says logistics expert Dr Jonathan Owens, of the University of Salford Business School.

“HS2 needs about 170 tonnes of long product rail and switch, which can be made in British Steel Scunthorpe," he said.

"Therefore, it would make sense for this plant to be the main supplier for the project. Buying raw material from overseas is a waste of time, money and effort, as well as increasing the supply chain cost by up to 30%."

He said now the deal was confirmed, it could make British Steel more appealing to potential Chinese buyer Jingye, which has been stalling on a deal negotiated last November.

Image source, Getty Images

In the House of Commons, MPs are giving their views on the PM's announcement - with some disagreement on whether or not it is a good idea.

Michael Fabricant, Conservative MP for Lichfield, says he is "less than enthusiastic" about the route, saying it "neither connects with Eurostar nor with Birmingham New Street or indeed with St Pancras".

He asked for compensation for those who will be affected by the building works, to which Mr Johnson replied "yes of course" .

Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson, Twickenham, says she welcomes the news because "cutting domestic flights and moving people onto our railways" is key to tackling climate change.

And Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South, also says the decision is "welcome" and asked for reassurances that the phase 2B Bill would receive Royal Asssent this parliament to make sure there are no delays and no cost-cutting.

The prime minister says it is vital that "the taxpayer gets maximum value as we proceed".

Image source, Getty Images

A bit more on that new HS2 minister role and plans for the cost savings.

In his statement, Johnson said as well as a full-time minister, a new ministerial oversight group would be tasked with taking strategic decisions about HS2.

"There will be changes to the way HS2 is managed," he said.

"We will, in line with Mr Oakervee's recommendations, be interrogating the current cost to identify where savings can be made in phase one without the cost and delays that would be associated with a detailed redesign.

"And, so that the company can focus solely on getting phases 1 and 2A built on something approaching time and budget, I will be creating new delivery arrangements for both the grossly behind-schedule Euston terminus and phase 2B of the wider project."

Phil Mackie
BBC News

The HS2 announcement is a massive moment.

Birmingham's skyline has been transformed over the past decade since HS2 was first announced, and I've been told there are a lot of other projects that will come now the green light has been given.

Tens of thousands of jobs and tens of millions of pounds of investment has already come into the city.

But while the urban West Midlands will broadly welcome today's announcement, I know that once you get to the surrounding areas of Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire, they don't see much benefit to this.

Instead, those areas see a lot of money spent on what they would call a white elephant; massive investment coming just to ruin their countryside.

Alongside these issues, this is quite an important political moment for Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands - there's an election campaign on now.

His Labour challenger, Liam Byrne, has also chipped in today, saying that whoever wins the £25bn contract to build the trains must guarantee they are built locally.

“The HS2 saga has not been a good advert for the UK's ability to build major infrastructure, but now the decision has been made, many businesses in the Midlands and North will just want to see the government get on and build it," said Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors.

He reckons splitting the project into more manageable chunks "makes political sense", but it also has "a degree of business-sense", he said, as long as the right controls are in place.

"We encourage the government to put strong governance frameworks in place to ensure management is properly scrutinised.

“Improving the rest of the transport network in the North, and making sure HS2 connects up, is just as important. Businesses leaders will be holding the government to their promises on Northern Powerhouse rail and local transport.”

Image source, Aslef

Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers' union, has welcomed the government's announcement.

"This is good news because Britain needs not just a new high speed rail line but a new high speed rail network," he said.

"The project has been criticised by environment campaigners but HS2 is part of the solution to climate change – because rail is part of the green agenda – and will mean fewer cars, fewer lorries, and fewer carbon emissions.

"If we are serious about climate change – and want a true, integrated transport network – then HS2 has to be delivered."

The wait for a final decision on HS2 has been a "nightmare," according to a councillor for a Warwickshire village that will be bisected by the rail route.

"About a tenth of our houses are now owned by HS2," said Burton Green parish councillor, Paddy Deeley.

"We've had ten years of uncertainty that we've all had to live with."

She said: "This decision has taken a lot longer than most people would have thought and I think most people now are actually glad that the decision has been made because all this uncertainty has been quite horrendous."

She added: "We just hope that they [HS2] deliver everything they've promised to ensure that this community has got some facilities that perhaps it didn't have before."

Image source, Parliament TV

Corbyn refers to Johnson's announcement yesterday of a bridge between Scotland and Ireland.

"The Prime Minister is clearly fond of announcing big shiny projects, like the scheme to build a bridge over the Irish Sea. Why not go the whole hog and make it a garden bridge connected to an airport in the sea – it stands as much chance of actually being built as those projects did? Or why not make it a cable car between Scotland and Northern Ireland or better still a giant zip wire.

"The saddest thing about today’s announcement is the high likelihood that so much of it won’t be delivered – with the Prime Minister demanding 5% cuts in the very departments that are supposed to carry them out.

"I fear that those communities that desperately need investment and new infrastructure are going to be let down when today’s headlines become yesterday’s news, and they find nothing has changed."

“The time for debate over HS2 is over and the time for delivery is now,” said Matthew Fell, chief UK policy director of the business bosses' body the CBI, He said:

The leader of Birmingham City Council has welcomed the HS2 announcement, describing it as a "once in a generation opportunity to rebalance the UK economy".

Image source, HS2 Ltd

Ian Ward, Labour, said: "The people of the Midlands and the north have been neglected for far too long."

He described the decision to review the northern stretch of the scheme as "disappointing".

Image source, Parliament TV

Jeremy Corbyn continues: "HS2 must be developed with more sensitivity to local communities and the environment, particularly regarding the impact it will have on woodlands.

"And if it is to have public support the fares on HS2 must be affordable. Can the prime minister tell us where the trains will be built? Will those jobs and training be in this country?

"What about other parts of the country, like the far South West for example? When will the Prime Minister match the £2.5bn commitment to upgrade the Great Western Mainline on our only train line into the South West?

"We believe the case is now unanswerable that our railways should be publicly owned and run to improve the service and cut fares by 33%."

Image source, Parliament TV

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused Johnson of copying a Labour Party policy in adopting HS2.

He accused the Prime Minister of "failing to keep a lid on the costs".

He said: "This is a government that is unwilling to make the scale of investment needed to revive the parts of our country that have been decimated by successive Conservative governments.

"And it’s a government that has proved unable to manage infrastructure projects properly and incapable to keep a lid on costs."