Firms urged to get on board with line

BUSINESSES are being urged to get on board plans to reopen passenger services on the Burton to Leicester ‘Ivanhoe’ railway line.

East Midlands Chamber is asking businesses for their input on opening up the Ivanhoe line to paying passengers.

The 31-mile line is used for freight and upgrading it would need a multi-million pound investment in stations and other facilities.

It was sacrificed in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Beeching Cuts – when BR chairman Dr Richard Beeching closed thousands of stations and hundreds of branch lines to make the nationalised railways profitable.

It runs westwards from Leicester through villages and towns such as Kirby Muxloe, Desford, Coalville and Ashby, to Burton-upon-trent. Plans to reinstate it - also referred to as the National Forest Line – have been on the cards for decades.

In May, the Government announced a £500,000 fund for feasibility studies on whether 10 routes could be reopened, including the Ivanhoe Line.

The Campaign for Reopening the Ivanhoe Line, which has the backing of authorities including North West Leicestershire District Council, has now begun working with businesses along the route to strengthen its case – with the chamber urging members in those areas to get involved.

The campaigners say businesses such as Amazon, which has a big warehouse in Coalville, North West Leicestershire, and The National Forest Company, based in Moira, are among the big names to throw their weight behind the cause.

Group chairman Geoff Bushell said: “We are naturally excited but we now need to move to the next phase and ensure businesses in the region are aware of the benefits of the line.”