Bid for new Coventry and Nuneaton rail link submitted

[dutchman]

A £16 MILLION bid to build a railway station at the Ricoh Arena has been submitted to the Department of Transport (DoT) by city council chiefs.

Following a critical meeting with DoT officials in March, the council has submitted a 400 page application outling the business case for a station at Ricoh and a new line running between Coventry and Nuneaton.

The application includes plans for a new bay platform at Coventry station, an extended platform at Bedworth station, and a new station at Nuneaton's Bermuda Park, meaning trains could run between Nuneaton and Coventry every 20 to 30 minutes. On match days, services could run between Coventry station and the Ricoh every 15 minutes.

Council chiefs believe the application makes a sound business case for the plans, despite Network Rail repeatedly claiming a train service between Nuneaton and Coventry - stopping at the Ricoh - was a financial non-starter.

Coun Gary Ridley, the council's city development spokesman, said: "Our plan for a good, frequent rail link between the north and the south of Coventry and beyond is vital to the continued economic success of our city.

"I think we have put together a very strong business case and we'll continue to do more work with our partners in Warwickshire and Centro while our plan's being considered.

"Building a bay platform at Coventry Station would mean the connection between Nuneaton, Coventry and the Ricoh would be taken off the main line," he added. " This would be good for people travelling to London or Birmingham too, as they would not be held up by more local or slower trains."

If the council's outline bid gets the green light, the council must submit a detailed bid to secure Government funding. A final decision looks set to be made in late 2011 or early 2012.

All the bridges on the line are in a shocking conditon due to years of neglect and would have to be rebuilt. That includes the Spon End viaduct which alone would soak up the entire £16m budget.

[mozoke]

and the goverment will say fund it yourself so back to the drawing board im afraid.