Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the proposed Ivanhoe Line between Coalville and Ashby could become reality.

In today's televised Government briefing, Mr Shapps named the railway line as one of schemes in line for Government funding.

He announced £283million worth of investment in public transport and he named the Ivanhoe Line as something that could 'get built fast'.

Mr Shapps said on Saturday: "Today the next 10 schemes to benefit are announced.

"It's development funding, but if they stack up then we're going to build them fast.

"One of the schemes is the reinstatement of the Ivanhoe Line in the East Midlands between Leicester and Burton via Coalville and Ashby."

The Campaign for the Reopening of the Ivanhoe Line had been expecting to hear later this week whether they had made it to the next stage of the Department of Transport's Restoring Your Railway initiative.

It had already been accepted for the assessment process of the Dft's New Ideas Fund.

Now it has made it to the next stage.

The £500million Restoring Your Railway Fund invited MPs, local councils and community groups to propose how they could use funding to reinstate axed local services and restore stations.

CRIL has made it to the Ideas Fund stage which provides support to proposals to reinstate axed local services.

The DfT looked for schemes which are sponsored by MPs working with local authorities and community groups.