蜜芽传媒

In July, the restoration of a passenger rail link through the Midlands was stopped in its tracks.

A business case for reopening the Ivanhoe Line rail link from Burton-upon-Trent to Leicester had been submitted before the election, with campaigners hopeful that work could begin in 2024.

But in July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Treasury needed to find 拢5.5bn of savings in 2024, and a further 拢8.1bn in 2025.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Chancellor said that the previous government's entire Restoring Your Railway programme would be scrapped, saving 拢85m. She added that for now, the Ivanhoe Line and other projects yet to progress to their building stages had been halted.

The Ivanhoe line was one of the branch lines that closed as part of the infamous Beeching Cuts of the 1960s.

Douglas McLay from the Campaign to Restore the Ivanhoe Line spoke with Ady Dayman.

(Story originally published July 2024)