A potential scheme to restore some of the county's long-lost railways is being explored by a local MP, Derbyshire Live can exclusively reveal.
 
Sarah Dines, the new MP for Derbyshire Dales, has met with the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps to discuss the possibility of reconnecting towns and cities with rail links that vanished in the 1960s.
 
Derbyshire Live can exclusively reveal that at the top of Mrs Dines' priority list would be the Matlock to Buxton Line, which was shut down in 1968 by the Labour Minister for Transport Barbara Castle.
 
The government has launched a review of the nation's railways with an aim to reversing some of the cuts made by Richard Beeching during a railway reshaping in the 1960s.
 
And Mrs Dines has set herself the task of gauging the opinions and appetites of her constituents for the reopening of a line from Matlock to Buxton, before she considers presenting the proposal as part of the government review.
 
She told Derbyshire Live, "Reopening this rail line could be an incredibly exciting opportunity for Derbyshire, but we must weigh all the positives and consider any negatives. I have been contacted by multiple residents calling for this and there are many interesting ideas which could benefit Derbyshire Dales. I am surveying the thoughts of constituents in Derbyshire Dales and would welcome any views to my parliamentary email at sarah.dines.mp@parliament.uk"
 
The idea is likely to be met with a mixed reception in Derbyshire, with many people having campaigned for the line to be reinstated for several years.
 
A petition on Change.org to re-open the 12 mile line has gathered in 13,422 signatures and the scheme has also been put forward by the Campaign for Better Transport in a report on how expanding the rail network could bring economic benefits.
 
However the Peak District National Park spent £3.785 million less than nine years ago on reinstating tunnels along what is now the Monsal Trail, a popular bridleway that runs along the former trackbed of the railway.
 
Darley Dale-based Peak Rail also runs a heritage fleet of steam engines along part of the route, from Matlock to Rowsley.
 
Last month Mr. Shapps launched the Conservative government's £500 million funding pledge to bring back historic rail lines, which he hopes will reconnect isolated communities across the country and boost access to jobs and education.
 
Gareth Butterfield.