Ashby MP Andrew Bridgen has welcomed Government funding to develop plans for the Ivanhoe Line.

It is part of the Government's £500 million commitment to reopen railway lines and stations across the country that were closed during the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.

North West Leicestershire's Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has helped to secure a share of £500,000 to develop plans and proposals to reopen the Ivanhoe Line which is scheduled to have a station in Ashby.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps named the scheme during Saturday's televised Government briefing as the Campaign for the Re-opening of the Ivanhoe Line made it through to the next stage of funding.

The funding will be used to explore the feasibility of the project in more detail, after the Department for Transport decided the project was worthy of further consideration.

Mr Bridgen has worked with CRIL to develop the initial bid, making the case to ministers and officials in Whitehall that the project should progress to the next phase and receive financial support.

The project is part of the Government's £500 million Restoring Your Railway Fund, part of a promise made in the Conservative manifesto to reopen many of the lines and stations that were closed in the 1960s – known as the Beeching cuts.

The restoration of many of the Beeching lines is a core component of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister's agenda to invest in infrastructure to level up economic growth and opportunities across the whole country.

Mr Bridgen MP said: "While the Government is protecting lives and livelihoods in the Coronavirus outbreak, never has the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister's agenda to level up and invest in infrastructure been so important.

"I am delighted that we will now receive Government funding to develop proposals for reopening the Ivanhoe Line in more detail, which will bring huge benefits to people living and working in North West Leicestershire.

"Since becoming MP in 2010, the reopening of the Ivanhoe Line has been a top priority of mine as we have no train station in the constituency.

"Coalville is the fifth biggest town in the country without a station and the reopening of this line would be transformational.

"Good transport links are essential, and I hope this funding marks the first step in getting this project off the ground as quickly as possible."