Campaigners aiming to re-open a passenger railway line through Ashby say the latest Government plans have given them a boost.

The Campaign to Reopen the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL) has been bidding to have trains running once more between Burton and Leicester - with stations planned at both Ashby and Moira.

It is a scheme that has been backed by local MPs and has been gathering pace since Transport Secretary Grant Shapps mentioned the route by name during a televised media briefing last year.

You can read that article HERE.

Yesterday (Thursday), Mr Shapps published his £96billion Integrated Railway Plan (IRP).

And a statement issued by CRIL says: "The details given in the plan focus on upgrades and enhancements to England's core main line railway network.

"But it also confirms that the Government's plans still include the Restoring Your Railways (RYR) programme to re-open railways that were closed by the Beeching axe.

"The Campaign to Restore the Ivanhoe Line from Burton to Leicester welcomes this very significant investment in England's railways.

"The IRP includes upgrades to the Midland Main Line in the Leicester area which would facilitate better connections to the Ivanhoe Line at Leicester.

"The proposal to restore passenger services between Burton and Leicester, and to communities along the route, was included in the first phase of the RYR programme.

"CRIL received government and local authority funding to prepare a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) which was submitted to the Department of Transport in May 2021.

"This case clearly demonstrated the strength of the case to restore the line on social, financial and environmental grounds.

"CRIL understands that our SOBC was well received by the Department of Transport and Network Rail.

"This is a significant step towards the approval of the re-opening of the Ivanhoe Line.

"CRIL looks forward to working with the Department of Transport, Local Authorities and local MPs to achieve the approval to restore passenger services on the Line between Burton and Leicester."

Campaign spokesman Douglas McLay added: "Re-opening of the Ivanhoe Line would provide real value for the relatively modest Government investment needed.

"The re-opening of this railway would give a real boost to the often forgotten populations of South Derbyshire and North West Leicestershire."

CRIL was formed by the late Geoff Bushell in 2019.

The statement adds: "Geoff tirelessly raised awareness and support for the reopening of the Ivanhoe Line and formed a team of volunteer specialists to support him.

"He gained the public support of all nine, first and second tier, local authorities along the line, as well as all the local MPs, all of whom continue to support the Campaign.

"The local authorities together made £70,000 available to CRIL to commission a Feasibility Study.

"CRIL's bid to Join the Governments Restoring Your Railways Programme and was selected to participate in the first wave.

"The Programme provided £75k to fund a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) which CRIL submitted in May of this year.

"Sadly we lost Geoff to Covid in 2020, and the rest of the committee pledged to carry on his work to re-open the line by completing the SOBC and actively campaigning for the reopening of the Ivanhoe Line."