A bid to re-link Leicester and Northampton has been launched by public transport enthusiasts. It is more than 40 years since the line closed, but the British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) believes it should be reinstated.
Northampton is 30 miles from Leicester, but train journeys take more than an hour and 40 minutes, with two changes at Nuneaton and Rugby. The BRTA believes a direct line - known as N2MH - should be re-opened so that trains are able to go directly from Leicester to Northampton, stopping at Market Harborough.
It is more than 40 years since the rail link last existed and the organisation is calling on people to write to their MPs calling for the change to be made. The BRTA said: "Restoring the N2MH rail link would provide transformative social, economic and environmental benefits for Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and further afield."
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The organisation said N2MH also has "huge potential" to improve "social inequality", "stimulate economic growth" and create a number of jobs. The group also believes the route would play a part in reducing excess deaths from pollution too.
The BRTA said: "There is growing parliamentary support for re-opening the line which, although closed for over 40 years, is still largely in existence. Northampton and Leicester are 31 miles apart. Currently the journey takes over 100 minutes by rail with two changes in Rugby and Nuneaton. The same journey is over 90 minutes by bus."
The association said that while Northampton already had direct links to London, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and Coventry, re-opening the line to Market Harborough would mean people could travel from Northampton to Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Loughborough by train, as well as Leicester.
More information is available on the BRTA website.
