Railways around Coventry

This is the join between the new and the original platform 1 at Coventry Station (near the ticket barriers). The old platform extends down towards the London end, but my train came so I didn't have a chance to see how far it went. Peter.

Wow never noticed the platform of that building on that old pic on the Warwickshire Railways site Peter so thank you. I love finding small snippets of old that are still there hidden away especially like this when you can definitely position old against new. Thanks again

The first signs of HS2 from the cycle path between Kenilworth and Warwick University. HS2 will be in a shallow cutting here with a bridge (about 5m higher than current path level) taking the cycle path over the line. Due to opening 1st December 2026. HS2 will pass beneath the A46, Coventry-Leamington railway and the A429. Peter.

Yes Peter B, an uncanny feeling to watch the station slide by and not knowing if you will see it again. I saw many girls dragged along the station unwilling to let go, as I posted sometime earlier it was the last sight and touch of your home, the most emotional feeling you could experience. No words can describe it.

The Office of Rail and Road has published the 2017-18 station usage estimates (2016-17 figures in brackets) The entrance & exit figures below are for April 2017 to March 2018. Bedworth 91,794 (85,310) Bermuda Park 28,378 (20,106) Berkswell 323,352 (317,164) Birmingham International 6,664,422 (6,468,034) Birmingham New Street 43,741,712 (42,366,776) Canley 380,546 (378,844) Coventry 7,558,210 (7,377,584) Coventry Arena 99,516 (86,706) Hampton-in-Arden 172,690 (160,646) Kenilworth Did not open until April 2018. Leamington Spa 2,671,422 (2,553,868) London Euston 44,745,816 (44,059,402) Nuneaton 1,313,980 (1,286,020) Rugby 2,527,944 (2,447,026) Tile Hill 667,980 (664,282) Wolverhampton 4,993,372 (4,920,356) All stations show an increase in usage. Coventry saw a 5.2% increase in passengers, continuing the trend for a number of years, and remains the second busiest station in the West Midlands. Bermuda Park and Coventry Arena continue to grow rapidly as new stations (opened 2016). Birmingham New Street (+3%) remains the busiest station outside London and the 6th busiest nationally. Peter.

Railway News According to twitter, all of the eight Class 172 DMUs for West Midlands Trains will have left London by the end of March. These will be used on the Kenilworth service and also on the lines through Snow Hill station. The first unit has arrived in Birmingham and should be undergoing driver training soon. There is a project to expand Tile Hill car park by 250 spaces in time for the 2021 Year of Culture. The same WMCA report suggests they are considering charging for parking at railway stations. Peter.

Back in January 2015 I shared a photograph of the nameplates from 'Coundon Road Station' and 'Hawkesbury Lane' signal boxes which are in the museum at the Chasewater Railway at Brownhills (Post 587 refers). On 1 January 2019 I found that they had a third nameplate lurking on the floor for 'Newdigate Siding' signal box. Not Coventry but very close.

The West Midlands Rail Executive have published their 30 Year Strategy for railways in the West Midlands. They have also published a separate document on how service patterns will change which is easier to follow. The local highlights are: Up to 2025 (before HS2) - Train lengthening - Extend local trains to Wolverhampton (& Liverpool?) - Hourly Train Leamington-Coventry-Nuneaton - Half hourly service Coventry-Nuneaton 2026-2033 (HS2 open) - 'Virgin Trains' London-Birmingham reduced from 3 to 2 trains/hour. - Additional hourly London-Coventry-Nuneaton-Trent Valley service - Local trains to Birmingham increased to 4 trains/hour (only 2/hr at Canley) - Additional hourly Reading-Newcastle 'Cross Country' service (currently runs non-stop via Solihull) - One Birmingham-Coventry local extended to Leamington making Kenilworth half hourly. - New Rugby Parkway station (on the line to Northampton) 2034-2047 (long term) - 6 trains/hour Coventry-Birmingham local service (Canley 4/hr) - Coventry-Nuneaton service extended to Leicester - 4 trains/hr Coventry-Kenilworth-Leamington The long term plan requires 4 tracking Coventry-Birmingham and double tracking Coventry-Leamington. Leamington-Coventry-Nuneaton will also need to be electrified. To mis-quote Steve Jackson's Bablake weather forecasts "It's a strategy, not a promise". Peter.

Nostalgia - "when trains used to stop at Foleshill"

Rail passengers across Coventry and Warwickshire to benefit from new services and faster journey times this May (West Midlands Trains). New timetable starts Sunday 19th May. Highlights - Hourly two-carriage Nuneaton-Coventry-Leamington service (Monday-Saturday) - Coventry-Leamington Sunday service - Three local trains/hour Birmingham-Coventry-London Euston on Sundays - Coventry-Birmingham local trains extended to Liverpool/Stoke-on-Trent/Rugeley (via Walsall) - More eight car trains. - Later last trains. - Coventry-London Euston trains accelerated up by reducing stop at Northampton. Peter.

I would be interested to know how much use is being made of the service to Kenilworth now that is open. When we lived in Leamington Road, overlooking the railway line in the 1950's, we regularly commented that the trains to Kenilworth, Leamington were often empty or had one or two passengers, wondering how long the service could continue.

Argon, Kenilworth station re-opened on 30th April 2018. Official estimates for station usage are for the 12 months ending 31st March and published in December, so we should have the first set of official figures just before Christmas. The only published figure is 'around 1000' on the first day. I presume this was in the 900's, otherwise the press release would have said 'over 1000'. This will be much higher than a normal day (I travelled that day and haven't travelled again since). From infrequent observations I think about 4-5 people get on/off in the middle of the day, and presumably more in the peaks. The trains seem to be quite well loaded so the new service may have boosted Coventry-Leamington passengers numbers as well. Traffic at a new station normally builds up over 2-3 years. Peter.

Thanks, Peter, good to know that the service will probably be better used than it was in the 1950's. Possibly modern road traffic congestion is a reason for this. I recently had occasion to use the train from New Milton to Poole to visit my wife in hospital and it was the first time in about 50 years that I have used the train (quite surprised that I did not suffer from smoke blown from the engine!) A good service at £8.10 return. Only once did anyone examine tickets in 12 trips. How can that pay? Problem was taxi from station to hospital was £5 each way for about a half mile, The roads were too busy and it was uphill so I preferred not to walk at my advanced age. The hazardous drive for someone of my age was the cause of my using the train.

Argon, The Poole RouteONE bus runs between the railway station and hospital. It's a circular service so 30 minutes out, 5 minutes back. It may be quicker to walk to the bus station (500 yards traffic free through Dolphin shopping centre) and get the bus there. Regards, Peter.