The Campaign for the Reopening of the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL), between Burton-on-Trent in Derbyshire and Leicester, has slammed the government’s latest transport plans for neglecting to provide funding for reopening the line.

The government recently announced a wide range of ambitious rail schemes, which will probably cost many billions of pounds but are unlikely to be completed within the next ten years. The campaign considers that the government has disregarded more local schemes that are already fully defined, have a low risk, and could be delivered before the end of the current parliament.

The Ivanhoe Line is a good example of such a scheme, as it is still in use for freight. Upgrading it for passenger trains would provide much-needed railway connectivity to three of England’s largest towns without a passenger service: Swadlincote, Ashby de la Zouch and Coalville.

Under the Conservative government’s ‘Restoring Your Railway’ initiative, it was agreed that there was an excellent case for the line’s reopening. The government funded a feasibility study and approved an Outline Business Case to reopen the line, which identified the costs and timescales, and the benefits it would bring to nearly half a million residents.

The feasibility study showed that to open a passenger service from Coalville to Burton-on-Trent as a first phase of the scheme would cost around £100m, and could be completed within two years of receiving approval for funding.

The campaign wonders why the Ivanhoe Line wasn’t included in its announcement, as it relies on proposals from local communities; that approach works well for schemes within a mayoralty, but neglects communities such as the one through which the Ivanhoe Line runs. These are covered by two mayoralty areas, as well as a county and a city council that are not in a mayoralty.

Residents in line’s communities feel forgotten, and think that the government only listens to mayoralties, which doesn’t work for communities such as along the Ivanhoe Line, who think that other than HMRC, no one in government listens to local MPs and local campaign groups.

“Once more, South Derbyshire and Northwest Leicestershire appear nowhere in Government rail plans, despite having three substantial towns without a rail connection and no trunk roads connecting them to essential services such as higher education, hospitals, employment opportunities and leisure facilities.”

Douglas McLay, CRIL spokesman