The government has announced £15 million in funding to develop 9 Restoring Your Railway schemes.

This comes after the launch of Restoring Your Railway in 2020, as well as the successful reopening of the Dartmoor Line. 

The schemes will receive funding to kickstart reopening and level up local communities across the country. 

This funding will continue the development of some schemes identified through the Ideas Fund, which is providing early-stage development funding to 38 schemes in total.

This announcement comes after the completion and reopening of the Dartmoor Line, which was delivered ahead of time and under budget. The restored line has been hugely popular, with more than 50,000 journeys undertaken in the first 20 weeks since the line reopened – more than double the number predicted.

The 9 schemes receiving funding are:

• Aldridge station and line upgrade in Walsall
• The Barrow Hill Line between Sheffield and Chesterfield
• The Ivanhoe Line between Leicester and Burton on Trent
• Meir Station between Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire
• Haxby Station on the York to Scarborough Line
• Reinstating the Fleetwood Railway Line
• Ferryhill Station in County Durham
• The Mid Cornwall Metro, connecting Newquay, Truro and Falmouth
• Devizes Station between Pewsey and Westbury in Wiltshire

Wendy Morton, Rail Minister, said:

"This fund is a great example of how we are committed to helping communities across the country level up and reconnect people and businesses to new opportunities."