Press release -
Kenilworth station officially opened
A plaque to mark the official opening of Kenilworth Station was officially unveiled today by the Secretary of State for Transport, the Right Honourable Chris Grayling MP.
Mr Grayling was joined by the MP for Kenilworth and Southam, Rt Hon Jeremy Wright and Cllr Peter Butlin and Monica Fogarty from Warwickshire County Council to unveil the plaque and to pay tribute to all of the partners in the scheme who had made it possible, with representatives from Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Network Rail, West Midlands Trains and West Midlands Rail all present.
After over 50 years without a station following the closure of the original building in 1965, the new Kenilworth Station opened in April with many of the aspects of the original design incorporated into its design. The hourly service from Coventry to Leamington now alights at Kenilworth.
The project to build the station was funded by Warwickshire County Council, the
Government’s Local Growth Fund through Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and from the Department for Transport’s New Stations Fund.
Cllr Jeff Clarke, WCC portfolio holder for transport and planning, said: "The county council is committed to ensuring Warwickshire has the right infrastructure to continue its economic growth and transport links are absolutely critical to this strategy. Kenilworth Station is key to this and we are pleased that the town has a station again and that residents have responded so positively to it."
Jonathan Browning, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The Local Growth Fund gives the LEPs the opportunity to progress transport schemes which will improve connections with other towns and cities and tackle congestion. Kenilworth fits all those criteria and we are delighted the financial support we were able to provide has made the creation of the station possible.
“The station is already proving a very useful link between Leamington and Coventry and that will only increase as services are added and it becomes a greater part of people’s day-to-day travel.”
Brenda Lawrence, head of stations for West Midlands Railway, said: "Kenilworth is the first new station to be opened by West Midlands Trains, delivering popular new journey opportunities for the local area. Further improvements to our services are also planned for the future with new trains and better connections across our network. Today is about thanking our partners for their part in bringing Kenilworth station to fruition and reinforcing our commitment to supporting the progress and prosperity of the communities we serve."
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About West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains Ltd. will be running the West Midlands rail franchise from 10 December 2017 until 2025/6. Abellio has a 70.1% share of the company, East Japan Railway Company (JRE) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) own the remaining 29.9% in a 50:50 split.
About Abellio
Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. Every day our people provide rail, bus and tram services to 1.7m customers across the UK, Germany and in the Netherlands. In the UK we operate buses through Abellio London, as well as ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, and Merseyrail in a joint venture with Serco. In Germany we operate Abellio Deutschland, serving communities in North Rhine Westfalia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse and Thuringia. Our role in transport extends beyond the journey from a-to-b. With our international heritage and our policy of sharing best practice, not just amongst ourselves, but across the wider transport industry, we provide thought leadership and truly innovative ideas which make a positive contribution to the communities we serve. For more information on Abellio visit www.abellio.com
About Mitsui
Mitsui is one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises in the world with 139 offices in 66 countries as of March, 2017. Utilising our global operating locations, network and information resources, we are multilaterally pursuing business that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure Projects, Integrated Transportation Systems, Chemicals, Energy, Food Resources, Food Products & Services, Consumer Services, IT & Communication, and Corporate Development Business. Mitsui is actively taking on challenges for global business innovation around the world. For more information, visit www.mitsui.com.
About JR East
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) was established in 1987, when Japanese National Railways was divided as part of a package of railway reforms. JR East’s railway business covers a 7,500 km (approx. 4,660 miles) network in the eastern part of the Japanese main island, including Tokyo Metropolitan area, and provides transportation services, comprising urban, suburban and high speed operations, for 17 million passengers on a daily basis. JR East also undertakes non‐transport commercial activities, which account for more than 30% of the total revenue of JR East Group. JR East contributes to passengers and communities it serves by delivering high degrees of punctuality, reliability and comfort and also continues to pursue higher levels of safety and service quality through technical innovation. For more information, visit www.jreast.co.jp/e.
