Leicestershire County Council is to urge the Department for Transport and Network Rail to reconsider the decision not to re-connect the Ivanhoe Line between Ashby and Coalville to Leicester.

Fully re-opening the Ivanhoe Line would be to the benefit of all, the County Council believes.

Members of the county authority have displayed unanimous, cross-party support for a motion which asked the Government and Network Rail to re-think its decision not to restore a passenger service between Leicester and Coalville and Ashby.

Original plans for the restored Ivanhoe Line, which were first put forward in the 1980s, would have seen it run into Leicester.

But increased costs and the privatisation of the rail network saw the scheme shelved.

The Campaign for the Re-opening of the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL), which is spearheading the efforts to bring the scheme back to life, has submitted a bid for funding from the Government's Restoring Your Railways project.

However, the main plan is now a reshaped and smaller proposal to connect Coalville and Ashby to Burton and then Derby.

The city leg of the scheme is not included due to the "significant" infrastructure investment needed at Leicester.

But elected members at County Hall feel it would be a mistake fully open the line at its eastern route.

A new Ashby station could be built close to the former one, but it will not take passengers to Leicester as things stand. Photo: Ashby Nub News

Liberal Democrat councillor for Hollycroft, David Bill, was on the original working party set up in the 80s to develop the plans.

Presenting the motion to a meeting of the full council yesterday (Wednesday), he said: "We produced plans, all kinds of detailed work, we were looking at the livery and upholstery of the trains, we were looking at logos and everything, and somewhere in the annals of this building you will find the plans that were put together all those years ago.

"They were the whole track diagrams, the plans for the stations, the details of the trains are all there somewhere in this building.

"They must all still exist. We got as far as 1993, and we produced a prospectus."

He added: "It wasn't going to stop in Leicester, it was going to go all the way to Burton-on-Trent and then over to Derby.

"But various events intervened, the costs rose. And then we had privatisation which brought in further challenges and the scheme was shelved.

"What I'm delighted to be able to report is the success of CRIL who have come back onto the scene and who have tackled the challenges head on.

"I very much hope at some point the local authorities, including our own, can work alongside this campaign and can now bring what is a concept that has reached quite a fruitful stage, into fruition and bring about the 40-year-old dream that I've always had that we can actually get there some day.

"I hope one day we will actually see those passenger trains restored."

In a rare display of political unity, the leaders of all three political parties on the council voiced their support for the motion. Leader of the council Nick Rushton said Conservative members had always supported the principle of the scheme, but "could never afford to do it".

He added: "I can't think of anybody who will be getting on the train at Derby to go to Coalville.

"I like Coalville but, if I live in Derby, why am I wanting to jump on a train and go to Coalville via Burton and via the National Forest?

Ashby-based Leicestershire County Council leader Nick Rushton was critical of the new plans. Photo: Leicestershire County Council

"I can certainly see a lot of people going from Derby to Leicester. What they're doing [by not extending the line through Leicester] is taking away a lot of the potential customers."

Amanda Hack, Labour group leader on the council, added the scheme would have "long-term benefits" for residents, businesses and those travelling for leisure.

"She said: "The opening of the Ivanhoe line in full has to be the long term objective for Leicestershire and therefore needs to be supported by this council.

"The decision to consider the line from Coalville to Burton only at this stage though should be seen as a positive step and we want to see that delivered, but it has to be part of a longer term project to open the line in full."

Liberal Democrat leader Michael Mullaney seconded Coun Bill's motion, saying: "If we are going to get people away from cars and onto public transport, we do need to improve the public transport options that are available, whether that's existing lines, whether it's keeping those ticket offices in Hinckley and elsewhere, or whether it's restoring services like the Ivanhoe Line."

The approved motion read: "Bearing in mind the time, money and effort expended by the County Council starting in the early 1980s, the work of the Campaign for re-opening the Ivanhoe Line and the support from the Government's Restore Your Railway Fund, this Council urges the Department for Transport and Network Rail to reconsider its decision not to restore a passenger service between Leicester and Coalville and Ashby."