Original sentence: It runs from a junction with the M1 near Rugby in central England, passes near Coventry, through Birmingham and near the major cities of Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Liverpool and Preston, and runs to the north of Carlisle, close to the Scottish border
Edited sentence: It runs from a junction with the M1 near Rugby in central England, passes near Coventry, through Birmingham and near the major cities of Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the UK's third city Manchester, Liverpool and Preston, and runs to the north of Carlisle, close to the Scottish border