16:43
Tieng Anh Vui
The government is set to present fresh evidence to support the HS2 rail project.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will highlight a report which says the UK economy will receive a £15bn boost from the rail line.
The report also concludes that regions outside London will be the biggest beneficiaries of the new service.
His speech will counter harsh criticism of the project earlier this week by the Public Accounts Committee.
In its review of the project the Committee said: "So far the Department (of Transport) has made decisions based on fragile numbers, out of date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life."
The committee also said there was no evidence the line would help the growth of regional cities and would instead draw even more business to London.
Analysis
This report tots up the benefits in a new way.
It analyses how better transport links have apparently fuelled business and productivity across various different cities, then applies that to HS2.
Saving time still plays a part, but it's a smaller part.
Instead, there's more importance placed on all those extra seats this scheme provides, not just on the new high speed trains but on the rest of the rail network too (all those extra commuter services we're being promised).
Critics say the government's just moving the goalposts in a desperate bid to make their project look better.
The latest study has been conducted by the accountants KPMG and commissioned by HS2 Ltd, the company responsible for developing and promoting the project.
It says Birmingham's economy could see a boost worth between 2.1% and 4.2% of the city's total economy.
For Manchester the benefit would be between 0.8% and 1.7%.
For Leeds the boost would be 1.6% and London 0.5%.
In a speech later, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will say: "'High Speed Two will make Liverpool stronger. Manchester stronger. Leeds stronger. Britain stronger.
"A £15bn annual boost to the economy. With the north and midlands gaining at least double the benefit of the south."
Wednesday's report calculates the benefits of the project in a different way to previous efforts.
Time saved is a less important of the calculation - instead the report includes the benefits of extra seats, which means passengers will be able to work while travelling.
It also takes into account the reduction in congestion elsewhere on the network.
In his speech Mr McLoughlin will say that "speed is not the main reason for building the railway".
"The point about High Speed Two is that you won't have to travel on it to gain from the better transport system and economic growth it will support."
The high-speed line would run between London and Birmingham from 2026 before being extended to Manchester and Leeds from 2033.
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