PLANS for a new £30bn high-speed rail line linking Yorkshire to London’s Heathrow airport has been given a “cautious welcome” by a Huddersfield-based business organisation.

The Mid-Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce said some of that money would be better spent improving road and rail links between towns and cities in the region.

And it argued that internal flights remained the best way to connect to Heathrow.

Supporters of the proposed rail link, which could run along the line of the M1, said it would make it easier for people in northern England to get to Heathrow and reduce the need for internal connecting flights.

The scheme, drawn up by a chartered civil engineer for the 2M Group of local authorities in the London area, envisages a single England-Scotland “spine” route serving Leeds and other northern cities.

The first phase would reach from London to Leicester with a branch to Birmingham connecting to the existing West Coast and Midland mainlines.

The second phase would extend from Leicester along the M1/M18 corridor and connect to the East Coast Main Line.

The third phase could extend from Sheffield to Leeds and to Manchester through a reopened Woodhead Tunnel, south of Huddersfield.

The final stages would extend from Manchester along the M62 corridor to Liverpool and shadow the East Coast Main Line to Edinburgh and M8 corridor to Glasgow.

Steven Leigh, senior policy adviser for the Lockwood-based Mid Yorkshire chamber, said: “While we would welcome anything that benefits the Yorkshire region, the cost of this project is huge.

“We would like to see more done about improving our local connections.

“Getting from Leeds to Halifax or Huddersfield to Sheffield is proving very difficult at the moment, particularly because there is no spending on roads.”

He said: “We are well-served by our regional airports at Leeds-Bradford, Manchester and Doncaster.

“I know from experience working in exports and travelling the world that the best way to connect through Heathrow is by air because you and your baggage are ‘in the system’.

“We would give this scheme a cautious welcome, but at that level of cost a lot more could be done in our region on the road and rail infrastructure.”

Edwards Lister, leader of Wandsworth Council which is part of the 2M Group, said: “We are delighted to publish these proposals because we want a debate.

“We have a Government that can’t see further than the next runway. It’s time for some imagination in UK transport planning.

“We don’t pretend for one minute we have all the answers, but at least we’re asking the right questions.”

Richmond Council leader Serge Lourie said: “The country’s roads are grinding to a halt and all ministers want to do is put more planes in the sky and more cars on the ground.”