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Birmingham/London: Britain's opposition Conservatives would scrap a proposed third runway at Heathrow airport and instead build a new high-speed rail line between London and northern England, a party official said on Sunday.
Conservative transport spokeswoman Theresa Villiers said the £20 billion (Dh132.4 billion) railway would cut 66,500 flights a year, some 44 per cent of the capacity of the proposed new runway.
"Evidence from right around Europe clearly shows that high-speed rail provides a viable and attractive alternative to short haul flights. And it could deliver this without the environmental penalties of a third runway," she told the party conference in Birmingham.
She said a new high-speed rail network could add £60 billion (Dh397.2 billion) to Britain's economy, and boost transport links between the north of the country and the south.
Businessmen upset
Conservative leader David Cameron has already questioned the case for a third runway at Heathrow on environmental grounds, upsetting business leaders who say the economy will suffer if the airport is not enlarged. The business-focused Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said on Sunday a new rail link would not be enough to offset a refusal to expand Heathrow.
"A high-speed rail link would have a lot going for it, but don't think for a minute that it will solve the capacity problems at Heathrow," CBI director Richard Lambert said.
"This country needs both a third runway at Heathrow and high-speed rail," he said.
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