The economies of northern towns are suffering due to poor transport links, according to a new think-tank report.

The Centre for Cities group said on Tuesday that compared to the South East of England, where wealth has been shared around outside of London through "agglomeration", the North has been reliant on pockets of affluence in big cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

"Growth in the northern regions largely relies on the long-term contribution of Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle supported by a few smaller centres - Chester, Warrington and York," the report said.

"But agglomeration in the greater South East appears to work more efficiently than in the North."

It noted that while over 10 per cent of Reading's working population commute 60km to London, under three per cent of Burnley's residents travel half that distance to work in Manchester, meaning the success of its urban regeneration has spread.

"Poor commuter rail services and growing congestion on the roads and rails has made it very difficult for the people of smaller towns to dip into the vitality of the northern cities," said Centre for Cities head of policy Adam Marshall.

"There is a case for making greater public spending on regional transport by central and regional government a priority."