The dreaded sound of the iPhone alarm blares at 6.15am. Against my will, I turn over and switch it off, resisting the temptation to hit snooze.

I am resolutely not a morning person and this is at least an hour earlier than I'd like to wake up. But I have to, because I'm booked on the 7.48am train from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly this morning (Thursday). Before that, I've got a bus to catch, taking me from Wavertree to our city's main railway station.

This is not my usual commute - a thankfully easy journey on the 86 bus to Liverpool ONE before walking across town to the ECHO's St Paul's Square office in Liverpool city centre. Today, instead, I'm putting rush hour trains between Liverpool and Manchester to the test.

It comes as Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and his Greater Manchester counterpart Andy Burnham have been in London to make the case for improved rail services between the North West's biggest cities. Mayors Rotheram and Burnham travelled to Westminster yesterday to lobby the government for support for their vision for a multi-million pound new rail link between the two regions.

The two mayors are the key figures of the newly established Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board along with other regional leaders. The board has produced a major new report with a detailed vision for how the huge new project could look. It is a move being backed by the

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