Rail passengers in the North spend an extra 40 minutes a day on trains because tracks are not electrified, research shows.
Electric trains are faster than diesel ones and break down less.
But just 38% of the network is electrified, with such schemes disproportionately benefiting the South.
Only 17% of train journeys serving the North are electrified, compared with 84% serving London, according to Manchester Metropolitan University rail expert Marcus Mayers.
Other revelations in tonight’s Dispatches on Channel 4 include that at least 20 miles of usable rail carriages are in storage across the country – more than 110,000 extra seats, worth at least £3billion.
Many could be used on electrified lines if the Government had not delayed and cancelled electrification projects in 2017.
Dispatches commissioned independent rail engineer Gareth Dennis to assess the top 10 rail projects that the Government should tackle.
They include improving Birmingham’s network, fixing the notorious “Castlefield Corridor” – a Manchester bottleneck – and building two new platforms in Manchester Piccadilly station.
A ComRes poll of 2,000 showed just 28% of voters trust Boris Johnson to “level-up” the UK through £100billion spending on transport infrastructure in the North and Midlands.
Industry body the Rail Delivery Group said: “The best way to add the extra capacity passengers want and the country needs is to build HS2.”
The Department for Transport, headed by Grant Shapps MP, said: “We are investing a record £48billion to expand and modernise railways.”
