Coventry Conservative Leader, Cllr Kevin Foster, has welcomed the announcement by the Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, that the Coventry to Nuneaton rail upgrade will go ahead.
The rail upgrade scheme represents an £18,800,000 investment that will not only see two new stations built, including one at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, but major improvements to passenger services on the line. A new bay platform will be created at Coventry Railway Station so that trains to Nuneaton will no longer need to depart from the same platform as express services to London.
This investment in local rail services will not only provide better access to jobs around the Ricoh, but will help drive forward the regeneration of Coventry City Centre. The news of funding today follows years of delays under the last Government when goalposts constantly moved.
Commenting on the announcement, Cllr Kevin Foster said: “This is great news and a positive step forward for a vital project that will benefit our city. I am very pleased that the government has recognised the value of this scheme and that the Ricoh Arena will finally get the rail station it needs. Yet this scheme is not just about a building new Station. It is about delivering a major upgrade of rail services between Coventry and Nuneaton that will benefit everyone.”
He added: “The constant shifting of goalposts and delays under the last Government has meant that delivering a station at the Ricoh Arena has taken longer in the 21st Century than it took to build the mainline to Coventry in the 19th. I am pleased that the Coalition Government has now made this decision and given the green light.”