Campaigners against the expansion of London's Heathrow Airport on Thursday unveiled a GBP1.5 billion pound (USD$2.12 billion) plan to improve the airport's rail links to ease traffic congestion and cut the number of short-haul flights.
The 2M Group, a coalition of local authorities supported by London Mayor Boris Johnson, said its scheme would connect the airport with 150 stations within a 25 mile radius.
The campaign group says their "compass point" network would encourage people to take the train to the airport rather than drive, cutting car journeys by one million each year.
Better rail links between Heathrow and the rest of Britain would also lead to a big fall in the number of domestic flights, according to engineer Colin Elliff, who devised the plan for 2M.
"There are no links to the south, no links to the north -- Heathrow is locked in a bubble of congestion" he said. "People can only think of aviation solutions to aviation problems. A world without short-haul aviation is perfectly imaginable because people don't need to fly, they need to travel."
Earlier this month, the government approved a third runway and another terminal at the congested airport in an expansion welcomed by business groups and condemned by environmentalists.
The new runway will take about 10 years to build, expand traffic to 600,000 flights a year from 480,000 and create new flight paths across London.
Ministers and business leaders say the expansion is crucial to Britain's economy, but opponents warn that it will cause more pollution, noise and greenhouse gas emissions.
The government has already announced plans for a GBP4.5 billion rail interchange next to the airport.
But Elliff and 2M say that scheme would cost too much and would not help solve the problem of the airport's poor rail connections with the rest of Britain.
"It is a very bad railway scheme. We are going to spend a massive amount of money creating a very short length of railway that would actually benefit very few people," Elliff said.
The 2M proposal would expand the existing network to create through-routes in every direction.
The controversy over Heathrow was highlighted in parliament on Wednesday night when the government only narrowly won a vote on its expansion plans. Its majority was cut to 19.
"I think the vote we had yesterday demonstrated the strength of feeling against it," Conservative Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers told a news conference at the launch of 2M's plans. "I don't believe the third runway is going to happen."
Airport operator BAA, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, said the government is already considering upgrading the rail system at Heathrow, including a high-speed link to the north.
"The government made clear in its announcement decision about a third runway at Heathrow that increasing and improving rail would be a key part of the expansion strategy," a BAA spokesman said. The Department for Transport made no immediate comment.
The 2M Group was set up to fight expansion at Heathrow and takes its name from the two million residents of the original 12 local authorities who launched the campaign.
