Sunday service at Kenilworth Station could start in December after application made

The operators of Kenilworth Station have made an application to start a Sunday service in December of this year.
A Sunday service could finally be coming to Kenilworth StationA Sunday service could finally be coming to Kenilworth Station
A Sunday service could finally be coming to Kenilworth Station

West Midlands Trains has applied to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for trains to serve the station on a Sunday, have an extra service in each direction on Mondays to Saturdays, and to have services which go all the way through to Nuneaton.

Details of what times the extra services will arrive at the station are not yet known.

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The application states: “The linking of Leamington-Coventry and Coventry-Nuneaton services will fulfil a long-standing aspiration for through-services on this route.

“Additionally, the operation of a Sunday service between Leamington and Coventry will provide Kenilworth with a full seven-day timetable for the first time following the opening of the new Kenilworth Station.”

But these improvements might not happen if a better type of train does not become available.

Currently, Kenilworth Station is served by a slower type of single-carriage diesel train called a ‘Class 153’.

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This means Kenilworth can only served by one train an hour in each direction due to clashes with other services, such as CrossCountry trains, which pass through the station.

But Kenilworth’s services can only be improved is if a faster type of train, known as a ‘Class 172’, becomes available.

The improvements are also subject to apporval by Network Rail, as all train companies using the line must agree to the timetable changes.

Class 172 trains are made up of two carriages instead of one, so capacity could be improved on the line as well.

Francis Thomas, head of corporate affairs at West Midlands Trains, said the outcome was likely to be known in July.