Ivanhoe Line Campaigners Take Positive View After Transport Secretary Confirms Funding For Planned Gresley Route

The Campaign For The Re-Opening of the Ivanhoe Line says there are four key positive points to take from the Government announcing on Saturday that the scheme is to get 'Development Funding'.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said during the daily televised Coronavirus briefing that the Ivanhoe Line - which is scheduled to run from Burton to Leicester - would be one of the plans to benefit from extra investment.

And while there is no guarantee that the line will definitely be carrying passenger trains in the near future, CRIL has taken a number of encouraging signs from the announcement - especially as it was specifically named by the MP in front of a national TV audience.

There are stations planned at Castle Gresley and Moira as well as Ashby and Coalville.

CRIL has released a statement following Mr Shapps' comments and said: "Today we are delighted to report that additional 'Development Funding' has been announced by Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport during the daily briefing.

"What does this mean? Whilst the announcement is not a guarantee that the line will open, there are several significant things about it:

• It effectively doubles our funding for a feasibility study so we can consider the wider network aspects of the line.

• Central Government are now involved, which helps massively with coordination of departments and stakeholders.

• Specific attention was drawn to the Ivanhoe Line, and once a public announcement is made, it becomes politically more difficult to back-track.

•The positioning of the announcement was part of a wider rallying cry to get the economy moving again - emphasising one of our major points about the purpose of the line.

"So while we can't rest on our laurels, and there is much work in the months ahead, we can pause for a moment to enjoy the taste of success!"

CRIL vice-chairman Carl Benfield posted on his Facebook page and said: "Very excited to announce that the Campaign to Re-Open the Ivanhoe Line has been successful in its bid for Dept for Transport development funding to study the feasibility of re-opening the line.

"The funding, in addition to local government funding already received, will allow us to create a full business case for the line's positive impact both locally and also in connecting the wider network.

"In a field of 60 applicants, we were one of only 10 successful teams."