The first phase of the planned Ivanhoe Railway line will not link Coalville to Leicester, a council meeting in Ashby was told on Monday night.

But a new station for Coalville remains part of the scheme.

A representative of Network Rail said that the line is on course to re-open, but that it would run from Coalville to Derby - not Leicester.

Councillors were told at Monday's Ashby de la Zouch Town Council planning committee meeting that new track would be needed at Leicester end of the line.

Completing the route from Burton to Leicester - the original plan - would push up costs considerably.

It was then decided to continue with the scheme - but get what Network Rail described as 'the biggest bang for our buck'.

Therefore, the plan is to open the line from Coalville up to Ashby, Moira and Castle Gresley.

It will then join the existing route through Burton and Willington before heading to Derby.

The route could then be renamed the National Forest Line to reflect the area that large sections of the track will run through.

Network Rail has been looking for sites for new stations across the route of the line and visited last month as part of a report which will be presented at the end of the year.

Councillors were shown plans for options for station in Ashby, but the site for the one in Coalville has yet to be confirmed.

Image: Campaign for the Re-opening of the Ivanhoe Line

However, Coalville's Regeneration Framework, published earlier this year, included a site at Wolsey Road, off Memorial Square, close to Mantle Lane.

The Market Hall area was also suggested although that was put up for sale earlier this year for use as a potential leisure facility. However, that deal is now thought to be off the table.

Robert Russell, Business Development Sponsor at Network Rail, told the meeting in Ashby: "We targeted the biggest conurbation, where we could get the biggest bang for our buck.

"Between October last year and January we did some work and came up with a new proposal.

"This now sees the line starting at Derby and turning around at Coalville.

"The rationale behind this is the cost of the track.

"Getting into Leicester from Coalville is difficult as the track doesn't currently exist.

"Where that used to be, is now the Leicestershire Police Headquarters.

"But there is the potential for a phase two which could go from Coalville to Leicester South rather than Leicester Midland, perhaps around the King Power Stadium.

"The plan is to get the first phase built first, then that hopefully will drive the need for further investment."

The new scheme has been backed by the Department for Transport and Network Rail is continuing to plan for a Derby-Coalville route with a business case to be submitted in December.

But Cllr Rita Manning said: "It's disappointing that the line would not go Leicester.

"If you ask a lot of people in Ashby, they would want to get to Leicester by train."