Leaders of councils in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield have called on the Chancellor to back the £560m scheme, claiming it would generate £4bn across the North.
The package of major rail improvements will allow up to 700 more trains a day to run on railways across the North.
Already the government has given the go-ahead to an element of the major upgrade, the £85m Ordsall Chord which will link Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria stations for the first time.
But Network Rail has been told to reassess the remaining nine elements of the Hub package to ensure it is value for money.
Once this has been complete a decision on whether the scheme will get the go-ahead in full is expected in July.