THE OPENING of the new Kenilworth railway station looks set to be delayed again.
The first train was expected to arrive at the town’s new £13.6million station last December, but just days before the scheduled opening the Department for Transport (DfT) said no train or drivers would be available until February to operate a service on the line running between Leamington and Coventry.
But this week it emerged the opening was set to be put back once again. The Observer was waiting for a comment from Warwickshire County Council at the time of going to press.
Rail campaigner Fraser Pithie was far from impressed with yet another delay.
He said: “It is great Kenilworth is getting a station but this has turned into a complete farce.
“People have seen £13million put into a railway station and the station is now built, they want trains to run from it.
“We’ve had seven opening dates and now no opening date all. I think this town expects it to be open no later than the end of March. This is becoming an embarrassment to the rail service and this country.”
The DfT contributed £5million to the total cost of the project, with the remainder of the funding being provided by local transport bodies and the county council.
The new Station Road station – on the site of the town’s former station which closed in 1965 as part of the so-called Beeching Cuts – also includes a ticket office, 90-space car park and cycle parking.
