High speed rail connecting London cities - excellent idea. Move all LHR air traffic away from overflying London - even better idea and ticks every box of common sense on safety, enviromental and health grounds. What on earth are people complaining about at last a transport policy for the future!

grant, london,

This is literally, 'Pie in the Sky' Heathrow needs a third runway, and Gatwick needs a second.

I've nothing against fast train links, but these uncosted airyfairy projects like 'Boris Johnson International Airport' are just PR stunts.

david, exeter, UKI

Another PR gimmick from a party run by PR men (and women). This pie in the sky intercity link will be ready by 2027. Great, can't wait. This from the party that privatised the railways!
Any more great ideas on the way, Dave? Solve the financial crisis by 2058? Cut greenhouse gasses by 2418?

Will Pickle, Didsbury,

hope the plan includes decent car parking at the stations, or new stations located next to motorways. Cars may be bad but most people use them to get to the station or airport. And how about extending the line to Scotland? That said this is a sensible idea.

Jason White, Aberdeen, UK

A high speed rail link to Heathrow is a great idea. However the Tories need to explain where the 66,500 flight reduction comes from. That's nearly 200 a day. There are no flights to Birmingham so that leaves Manchester and Leeds, plus some European destinations!! Someone needs to check the data.

Gwilym Rees-Jones, Rcihmond, Surrey

Common sense, and not afraid to state the obvious.

I hate flying down to Heathrow from Teesside, so to be able to rail it makes sense, particularly when on leisure travel.

You can have my vote for this alone.

PS the freeze on council tax also helps.

Dave Hunter, Redcar, UK

This is not a legitimate issue for central government control at all.

James E. Petts, Burnham, England

Blimey, If they keep coming out with ideas like this I might even be forced to vote for them. There is no need for short hall flights if a high speed rail network is built. Rail can be powered by nuclear or renewably generated electricity thus dispensing of the need for fossil fuels.

nick, brighton, UK

I'm not a Tory and would hardly ever agree with them but this sounds like a good idea.
Aviation fuel is unlikely to get any cheaper & when you do fly you still need to use another mode of transport to get to the city centre.
Unlikely that anyone from the aviation industry thinks it's a good plan.

J Whiteside , Lytham,Lancashire, England

What about York, Durham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Sunderland? Do they not deserve a fast link to London. Once again the Westminster Tories think England ends at Leeds.

Someone will suggest next, that we all move south. Maybe we should just move Hadrians Wall south and be done with it.

Bob Price, Sunderland,

A high-speed rail link across the pennines? Manchester to Leeds? Desperately needed but I doubt that will ever happen.

Giles Smith, Leeds,