Kenilworth railway station

Kenilworth railway station is a railway station in Kenilworth, West Yorkshire. The original station was opened on 1844, before being rebuilt in 1884 and closed in 1965. In 2013, it was announced that the station will reopen in 2016, but this was revised several times and it was opened on 30 April 2018.

The original station was opened on 9 December 1844 along with the line, and was rebuilt in 1884 when the line was upgraded to double track. Passenger services were withdrawn on 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe, although the line was still open for goods traffic.

The station buildings were let out to a local builders merchant and remained in place for number of years after the station closed. Much of the line was singled during 1972, although some double track was retained through Kenilworth to form a passing loop a short distance north of the station site. Passenger services resumed in 1977, but as these were long-distance, and not local services, the station was not reopened.

In 2008, train operator CrossCountry and Warwickshire County Council supported the reopening and started to prepare a business case. It was included in the 2008-09 Warwickshire Local Transport Plan. In July 2009, it was announced that John Laing had been awarded a 20-year contract to design, build and operate the new station, due to open in 2013. Planning permission was granted in April 2011, but funding refused. In July 2011, John Laing successfully asked to withdraw from the contract as there was no funding available for the station construction to go ahead in the immediate future.

In November 2011 the upgrading of the Coventry to Nuneaton route was approved, renewing new hope for regeneration of the line through Kenilworth. In February 2013, Warwickshire County Council made a £5 million funding bid to the new fund the government had created to construct or renovate stations. In June 2013 the Department for Transport approved funding for the new station. Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin identified a potential opening date of 2016. In December 2013 the DfT reannounced its grant of £5 million toward the station's £11.3 million total cost, and gave the opening date as December 2016. On 4 October 2014 test runs were made between Leamington and Coventry to check timings along the route.

The design selected for the new station was a 'traditional' building based on the former station closed in the 1960s. This design was selected in 2014 from three possible options following feedback from the public. As only a single track now runs through the site, the new station will have only one platform initially, but has been built with provision for a second platform if or when the line through it is re-doubled. Plans for re-doubling the line from Milverton Junction to Kenilworth were put on hold by Network Rail in 2016, and no date has since been given for completion of this work. In April 2018, it was announced that plans for a second track on the line were back on but would not be completed until 2027 with the arrival of HS2.

In early summer 2016 Graham Construction Ltd was awarded the contract to build the station. The official start of work on site took place on 29 July 2016 when Jeremy Wright, the local Member of Parliament, ceremonially broke ground.

Although the initial completion date was August 2017, which is due to be delivered on time by the County Council, the start of service date was moved to 10 December 2017 owing to a delay in track and signalling work by Network Rail. Subsequently, Network Rail completed the necessary track and signalling interventions required to facilitate the station opening by 10 December 2017, but the station build was not complete.

As part of the franchise agreement by West Midlands Trains, effective from December 2017, a new hourly service from Leamington Spa to Coventry will call at the station. The service was supposed to commence from 10 December 2017, but was delayed for the third time, to start on 26 February 2018, as the Department for Transport said no rolling stock or drivers would be available until that time. However, in February 2018, it was revealed that the station's opening has been delayed for the fourth time and the station would not reopen until 5 March the earliest. On 20 March 2018, correspondence from the Office of Rail and Road, was released into the public domain which appeared to show that Warwickshire County Council had failed to submit essential safety information - necessarya for final sign-off to be issued - thus delaying the project.

The Office of Rail and Road authorized the opening of Kenilworth on 12 April 2018, and on 20 April 2018, Warwickshire County Council confirmed an opening date of 30 April 2018.