It is a drizzly, overcast afternoon in Swadlincote and there are a handful of people sheltering from the rain at the town's bus station, patiently waiting for transport to Ashby, Burton and Derby.

This is the town's sole transport hub with people waiting for transport to and from school, to go shopping, visit friends and family and commute for work.

The nearest train station, enabling travel across the country and many people's choice route to access wider and larger work and leisure options in Birmingham, Derby or Nottingham, is more than five miles away in Burton.

Swadlincote is a member of an infamous shortlist of eight large English towns which do not have a train station and are not within 5km of one, which makes its other transport links – primarily buses – much more crucial.

Timetables indicate that the Number 9 bus, operated by Diamond Bus, will take you directly from the Swadlincote Bus Station to Burton Railway Station in as little as 35 minutes, compared to a 16-minute drive or taxi journey.

However, local accounts claim this journey can often take much longer, in excess of an hour – or longer, depending on congestion or the driver.

Meanwhile, timetables show the direct journey to Derby bus station, via the Arriva-operated hourly Number 2 bus, is scheduled to take an hour and 19 minutes, compared to a 33-minute drive or taxi journey.

Long-held plans to restart passenger trains on the Ivanhoe railway lane through Burton to a would-be new station in Castle Gresley and onwards to Leicester were shelved last summer following a review of all infrastructure projects by the new Labour Government, seeking to plug a £21.9 billion funding gap.

The Ivanhoe project was to cost between £123-£186 million.

Its axing was dubbed "shortsighted", "disappointing" and "extremely wrong" by Cllr Tony King, Derbyshire County Council's cabinet member for clean growth and regeneration.

The decision has left councillors and residents wondering if Swadlincote will ever remove itself from the notorious eight-town shortlist and be left reliant on buses and taxis for transport further afield.

Concerns have been raised that growth in the area is limited by the lack of rail connections and residents bemoan hours wasted sat on buses trapped in traffic – with sustainable travel seemingly left by the roadside.

Amber Dolman, from Midway, who is waiting with her mother to collect her brother, said: "The buses are quite unreliable. They don't always turn up on time, they arrive late or they arrive early."

Her mother said that due to her disability, accessing the bus was not easy, saying: "If we had a train station it would help everybody here, it would definitely get used a lot. It would be convenient for it to be closer."

A woman from Ashby says: "Now and again, the bus just doesn't turn up and I've been left trying to work out how to get back.

"The buses are usually frequent, but there are a lot of stops, so I try to get earlier buses to avoid it stopping at all of them and taking longer."

Diane, 64, and Carol, 77, from Newhall, say they would welcome the return of railway services in Swadlincote.

They say buses will never be directly on time due to roadworks in Burton, with congestion delaying services too.

Hannah Holton, a 28-year-old South Derbyshire District Council employee, claims the Number 8 bus she catches from Newhall is "late 95 per cent of the time", often making her late for work.

She said the town regaining a train station would be "a huge blessing", with its absence "massively" limiting where people can shop and work.

Ms Holton said the lack of adequate bus services had made it extremely difficult to carry out her previous role as an early help practitioner at Derbyshire County Council, which had included needing to visit families and early help centres across the county.

Without a car, she said, this required a day's worth of planning and the requirement for all the connections to be on time, saying: "It does limit you".

Her bus home is supposed to be arriving in one minute but the Diamond bus app indicates it is still in Newhall high street.

Michael Holway, 81, from Swadlincote, said bus services he relies on, mainly the 21 and the 9 are "rubbish" and "don't stick to a timetable", saying "they have got their own timetable".

He said is often left waiting on the bus with other passengers during a driver changeover, but for no replacement driver to arrive, and is often waiting 30 minutes for his intended bus to arrive in the first place.

Meanwhile, Venice, 25, from Winshill, who usually catches the 9, said buses are "not too bad, to be fair, there are a lot of buses, they have some days when they are late but they are quite reliable, I've never had a bus not turn up". He said a train station would be good to have if it was affordable for people to use.

Rafal Wojtasik, 44, from Church Gresley, said he only uses the bus to get to and from East Midlands Airport, and otherwise relies on his car.

He said he has only used a UK train twice in 15 years because of the quality and cost, saying trains in Poland are half the price, much faster and far more reliable.

A spokesperson for Arriva Midlands said: "We operate regular bus services which connect Swadlincote town centre with key destinations in the area, including Ashby de la Zouch, Leicester and Derby.

"As an award-winning bus operator, we continuously review our network and listen to our customers' needs."

Diamond Buses was approached for comment but has not responded as of this article's publication.

Asked about the state of buses and lack of a train station in Swadlincote, Samantha Niblett, South Derbyshire MP, said: "Great transport links that enable people to get to places to work and shop and to access services they need are key to helping bring opportunity to people and in helping an economy to thrive.

"But after 14 years of a Conservative government, we don't even have some of the basic provisions across South Derbyshire such as decent roads or bus services that get people to where they need to be across the constituency.

"It's why I am delighted to see this Labour government's £1 billion investment into public transport for places that need it the most. 

"But those buses don't need pot-hole riddled roads to drive on which is why news that the East Midlands mayor getting circa £76 million to fix our roads is fulfilling a manifesto commitment. 

"It's a share of a £1.6 billion national investment, 50 per cent more than the Tories had promised."