The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottleneck in Manchester. It was predicted to stimulate economic growth in the region. The project has several elements but the prime objective is to eradicate the bottleneck in Manchester and allow trains to travel through the city at speed without stopping. The project was announced as the Manchester Hub in 2009. The project's steering partnership involves Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, East Midlands Trains, CrossCountry, Freightliner, the Department for Transport, Transport for Greater Manchester and Merseytravel.