Manchester City Council is urging businesses in the city to show their support for High Speed Rail.
And a Yes to HSR Campaign rally featuring local political and business leaders and drumming up support for the plans is being held in Piccadilly Gardens between 11.30am and 12.45pm on Monday 20 July.
The Government is currently consulting on proposals for High Speed 2, a high speed rail link between London and the Midlands as the first stage of a national high speed rail network (HSR) which will link to Manchester.
Council leader Sir Richard Leese has written to more than 300 business leaders in the city stressing the importance of the proposed link - which would ultimately mean a Manchester-London journey time of just 80 minutes - to the region's economy.
Estimates suggest that if it goes ahead the region's economy will benefit by around £12 billion every year and it will help create a minimum of 10,000 jobs across the north.
Sir Richard said: "There is no doubt that HSR will help our businesses and other organisations compete in Europe. HSR has been the key to economic investment and growth in Europe, China and Japan and will encourage investment and access to new markets bringing Britain's cities 'closer' to Manchester and helping redress the economic balance with the south.
"It will also help our tourism economy by boosting the number of visitors to the region from London and across Europe.
"The success of our city, and Greater Manchester as a whole, depends on continued investment in infrastructure including transport. If we are to remain serious players in the global marketplace, growing our economy and creating jobs, improved connections to the capital are essential. So it's important that our businesses add their voices to the consultation to ensure that we move forward on the right track and the plans aren't shunted into the sidelines by opponents elsewhere in the country."
Paul Simpson, the managing director of Visit Manchester, has already written to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond describing the HSR plans as "crucial" and adding that they would "contribute heavily to the city region's economy" and strengthen its role as a tourist destination.
The deadline for responses is 29 July. Businesses, and residents, can visit http://www.highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/ to have their say by answering seven simple questions. They can also email a response to hs2enquiries@hs2.gsi.gov.uk or by post to Freepost RSLX-UCGZ-UKSS, High Speed Rail Consultation, PO Box 59528, London SE21 9AX.
They are also being encouraged to support the Yes to High Speed Rail campaign by signing up online at http://www.campaignforhsr.com/
Manchester City Council, partner agencies and business leaders will also continue to press the case that a High Speed Rail programme is not an alternative to the delivery of the Northern (Manchester) Hub programme which will substantially improve capacity to and through the city.