 Its recommended route would follow the M1 motorway corridor northwards out of London, heading up the eastern side of the Pennines towards Edinburgh and Glasgow, roughly following the route of the existing East Coast Mainline.The route would use a combination of newly constructed track and updated track on existing lines.Cities in the English Midlands and Northern England would be connected to this line via a series of spurs diverging west, with a branch serving Birmingham and another branch serving Manchester and Liverpool.