Fresh calls are being made to reopen a regional passenger line which was closed by the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
Campaigners are pushing for the former Leicester to Northampton railway line to reopen to paying passengers.
It comes amid growing support from the Government and pressure groups to reopen regional lines as part of the country’s move towards a more sustainable transport network.
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The Tories have created a near £800 million package of funding to kickstart the reopening of some lines and stations which were scrapped or became freight-only more than 50 years ago.
Under the Beeching cuts almost a third of Britain’s passenger tracks were taken out of service.
Lobby group Sustainable Transport Northamptonshire wants to reconnect the old railway line with new passenger stations in Leicestershire at Lutterworth, Cosby and possibly Broughton Astley.
The route could also operate services between Northampton and Nottingham with a plan to link up the Magna Park logistics hub near Lutterworth.
The project would see the line follow the original Great Central Railway which runs alongside the M1 before linking up with the Birmingham to Leicester line near the existing Narborough station.
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The proposals have been submitted to the first stage of the Government’s ‘Restore Your Railway Fund’.
That ‘Ideas Fund’ stage could help explore the feasibility of the route by providing 75 per cent of costs – up to £50,000 – for a business case to be drawn up.
The idea was formally submitted in the latest round of applications which closed on Friday March, 5.
South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa has endorsed the plan.
He said: “These are hugely exciting plans to restore the historical Lutterworth Line between Leicester and Rugby and I am really delighted to be supporting them.
“The proposals put forward by Sustainable Transport Northamptonshire would revolutionise the regional transport system we have in South Leicestershire and would meet one of the Government’s core objectives in moving HGV haulage to the much more sustainable rail freight network.
“The Lutterworth Line would bring huge economic and social benefits by linking Rugby, Northampton and Leicester together, and with a good-sized station in Lutterworth and a village station for Cosby, this would allow my constituents to more easily travel around parts of the country.
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“Also, this project would undoubtedly bring a significant amount of positive commerce into this part of the county.”
Fourteen-year-old Harry Burr is a railway campaigner from Northampton who launched Sustainable Transport Northamptonshire in 2020.
He said: “We’d like to connect as many people as possible in the most environmentally sustainable way we can, which is why we are supporting this project.
“It connects a town of 10,000, Lutterworth, without an existing rail link, back to the rail network, while connecting three large communities together; Northampton, Rugby, and Leicester.”