Businesses across the North view investment in rail infrastructure as the number one stimulus that will transform the region’s economic prospects over the next 10 years, according to a survey released today by KPMG.

The firm’s annual Business Instincts Survey, a poll of 108 senior executives from companies across the north, found that projects such as HS2 and the Northern Hub were predicted to bring the most significant benefit to the northern economy during the course of the next decade.