Recently I attended the Spade in the Ground event at the site of the new Kenilworth Station on Priory Road, that officially marked the start of construction work to build the station. It is exciting to think that a year from now a new railway station will service Kenilworth, bringing considerable social and environmental benefits to our town. For the first time in over 50 years residents will be able to travel out of Kenilworth by train, leaving their cars behind while the trains will also bring visitors in.
Breaking the ground with the shovel on Friday was, for me, a milestone in the development of the project and reminded me how far we have come. Bringing a station back to Kenilworth has been at the top of my ‘to do’ list since I was first elected to represent the town in 2005. Working with Warwickshire County Council and local politicians, we have overcome a number of false starts, all motivated by our shared belief that the station will boost our local economy, improve the local environment by encouraging people out of their cars but most importantly improving local transport links in the local area and beyond.
Whilst I accept the hourly shuttle service between Leamington Spa and Coventry is limited, it is the beginning and I hope this will be a multi stage process with services to more destinations added in the future.