Kenilworth Station - new project?

[whole diary]

[Rhydgaled]

the new building has none of the character of the original. The council tried, apparently, but somehow it has utterly failed.

This is no accident.  It is a dogma of architecture and planning that although the new built is meant to be "in keeping" with the original, it should have a different (sometimes even contrasting) character.  The reasoning being that if it blended in too well it would detract from the original or be a pastiche of it.  You are always meant to see the join.

That dogma I think was the case with the Shrewsbury changes I mentioned, but there is no 'join' at Fishguard & Goodwick because the original wooden building was demolished completely (at least half of it was beyond repair).

[IndustryInsider]

Kenilworth on target to open on Sunday 10th December.

Looking like it might be off-target again now!  February 2018 being mooted.

https://www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/opening-of-kenilworth-station-with-full-service-severely-in-doubt-1-8261652

[mjones]

Why is the station at the single track section? I thought part of the double track section was within Kenilworth, so wouldn't  that have been  a better location, with less impact on capacity? I hope there is space for doubling through the new station, as surely that bottleneck on  a busy line will  addressed eventually...

[Rhydgaled]

Why is the station at the single track section? I thought part of the double track section was within Kenilworth, so wouldn't  that have been  a better location, with less impact on capacity? I hope there is space for doubling through the new station, as surely that bottleneck on  a busy line will  addressed eventually...

I believe that two platforms are under construction, but the second will be mothballed until the double tracking actually happens.

[grahame]

From the Leamington Observer

Arrival of first train at Kenilworth Station still a mystery

The first train was expected at the town’s new £13.6million station last December, but just days before the scheduled opening the Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) said no train or drivers would be available until February to operate a service on the line running between Leamington and Coventry.

But the DfT – which contributed £5million to the total cost of the project, with the remainder provided by local transport bodies and Warwickshire County Council – failed to deliver an opening date last month.

It has left both council chiefs and commuters frustrated.

A county council spokesperson said: “We are working with our partners in the rail industry to finalise the opening date for Kenilworth station, and beginning of services at the station. We hope to confirm this date as soon as possible.”

[grahame]

Kenilworth on target to open on Sunday 10th December.

Looking like it might be off-target again now!  February 2018 being mooted.

https://www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/opening-of-kenilworth-station-with-full-service-severely-in-doubt-1-8261652

And now "Sometime in April" ...
https://www.facebook.com/MidlandsBBC/videos/10156143254604761/

[grahame]

From the Kenilworth Weekly News

A top official of the national rail regulator announced he 'authorised Kenilworth Station' on social media last night (Thursday April 12).

Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at the Officer for Rail and Road (ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)), said: 'Today I have authorised Kenilworth Station' on Twitter at just after 8.30pm last night.

The ORR then retweeted him, saying: "Great news, Kenilworth station moves a step nearer to opening."

However, a firm opening date has yet to be announced.

Following the news, the joint managing director of Warwickshire County Council Monica Fogarty said: "I am delighted to say that the ORR has passed authorisation for entry into service subject to a number of outstanding items being finalised.

"All partners have worked extremely hard to move this forward so that the station can open as soon as possible.

"Once these have been finalised, we will be in position to confirm the date for the station to open."

JFDI^▸ (just flipping do it (polite version))!

[grahame]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Kenilworth station is to open its doors to passengers on 30 April.

More details about timetables and ticketing will be made available later, but Warwickshire County Council said it had agreed the start date with West Midlands Trains.

Residents had been told the station would open in 2016.

Richard Dickson, of Friends of Kenilworth Station, said his excitement at the opening was muted as residents had waited so long.

[grahame]

Kenilworth station is to open its doors to passengers on 30 April.
More details about timetables and ticketing will be made available later,

From the Coventry Telegraph

Nearly 18 months after the original opening date, Kenilworth Station is finally set to open on Monday, with train services calling at the Warwickshire town for the first time since 1965.

Campaigners have battled for more than 30 years to get the station reopened, and at 6.16am on April 30, the first train will depart to Coventry, arriving at platform four some nine minutes later.

Originally, the station was set to reopen in December 2016, but the project has been delayed on more than one occasion since then.

Earlier this year, Warwickshire County Council’s joint managing director Monica Fogarty revealed services would start on Monday February 26, before West Midlands Railway dismissed this, saying that the opening would be "at least 5 March" - representing the fourth delay to the opening.

But Monday's date looks set in stone, with a full, albeit infrequent timetable now available on National Rail's website.

The first train to depart Kenilworth Station is set to leave at 6.16am for Coventry on April 30, but commuters will face a lengthy wait if they miss this.

Trains will depart at eight minutes past the hour, every hour until 9.08pm.

The final train will then leave at 10.25pm.

In the opposite direction, trains will head to Leamington Spa.

The first train is set to depart at 6.44am, and continues to run at 44 minutes past the hour until 9.44pm.

The final train will leave at 10.53pm.

All services at Kenilworth Station will be a single carriage West Midlands Railway service.

These services will run from Monday to Saturday, will no services on Sundays.

A single ticket will cost £2.60 without any railcard deductions, while a return will cost £2.90.

Frankly, I would love an hourly service at my local station, and an evening service too. 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Full timetable on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website): http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/KNW/2018/04/30/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt . Agreed - it's hardly an infrequent service nor are there any lengthy waits!

[Western Pathfinder]

This.
http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2018/04/27/kenilworth-station-to-open-on-monday/
If Camberwick Green had a Railway Station this is what it would of looked like 😉

[martyjon]

This.
http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2018/04/27/kenilworth-station-to-open-on-monday/
If Camberwick Green had a Railway Station this is what it would of looked like 😉

Don't you mean  Ambridge next stop Hollerton Junction one way Felpeshum tother.

[grahame]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Kenilworth station has reopened to passengers after decades of campaigning.

[Chris from Nailsea]

... and how many of those other useful facilities would also be very welcome at ... well, Melksham, just for example :

The station was designed in a partnership between Warwickshire County Council and the local train operator following consultation with local residents. It will feature an on-site retail unit offering a full range of tickets for travel across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), rail travel advice and a community café will open for business.

Passengers will also benefit from a covered cycle parking and a ticket vending machine. The station is fully accessible, with step-free access throughout, thanks to lifts and footbridge. It also has a new 72 space car park.

The design has embraced the history of the site, with two stained glass windows and a vintage sign salvaged from the original station building, demolished in the 1980s.  These features were donated by Kenilworth residents and have contributed to the heritage feel of the station, this having been requested by the local community.

I'd love to see Melksham Station move up into that level of service. 

[IndustryInsider]

... and how many of those other useful facilities would also be very welcome at ... well, Melksham, just for example :

I took a trip out to the West Midlands last week to see numerous things going on in the area, and was also keen to drop by Kenilworth.  My outward trip was on an early lunchtime train from Leamington Spa to Coventry.  The single car Class 153 that plies the route had about ten people on board from Leamington, roughly half of which got off at Kenilworth where another twenty or more joined me through to Coventry.  After visiting other places I returned in the evening to watch one the 18:00 from Leamington arrive at Coventry (very healthy loadings of about 50) and returned on that train at 18:36 from Coventry to Leamington.  There were around 30-40 people on board with 20 or so leaving at Kenilworth and a handful or so boarding.  A couple of hours wandering round the station and enjoying some fish and chips at the shop by the station and I then returned from Kenilworth on the 20:44 to Leamington (about 5 got off and one other including myself got on).

I don't know whether Graham has had a chance to take a visit to Kenilworth or has plans to do so, but general route and population similarities with Melksham are quite striking.  Kenilworth has a population of 22k with larger settlements either side at Leamington's (56k) and Coventry (over £300k), and when/if Nuneaton is added as a through route you have its 86k and Bedworth's 30k to add.  For Kenilworth read Melksham which has its own 20k, with the larger settlements one side of Trowbridge and Westbury (the combined population of 50k being comparable to Leamington), and the other side you have Swindon being the 'Coventry' of the route at 182k and Chippenham the 'Nuneaton' at 45k.  And of course Westbury/Chippenham/Swindon all offer connectional opportunities to other large places in the same way Leamington, Coventry and Nuneaton do.  Even the end-to-end journey times are similar at around 45 minutes.

The principal difference of course is frequency.  With the station finally opening it has 17 trains each way per day at a memorable hourly frequency, whereas Melksham only has around half that.  Kenilworth is arguably better sited for its inhabitants and has much better facilities - larger car park, proper station building with waiting room and cafe, and a much more welcoming area surrounding the station - but I know Melksham has plans to improve its offering in that respect.

I'll be very interested to see how the usage builds over the coming years, especially if trains are extended to and from Nuneaton as connections for through journeys (especially coming from Nuneaton) currently leave a lot to be desired.