No Sunday services at Kenilworth Station until May 2019

Trains will not be serving Kenilworth on Sundays until at least May 2019, it has been confirmed.
There will be no Sunday service at Kenilworth until at least May 2019.There will be no Sunday service at Kenilworth until at least May 2019.
There will be no Sunday service at Kenilworth until at least May 2019.

The news comes after the Rail Delivery Group, supported by Network Rail, announced planned timetable changes for December would be scaled back because of the huge disruption caused by earlier timetable changes this May.

West Midlands Trains confirmed this meant planned improvements to Kenilworth services in December - which included Sunday services and direct services though to Nuneaton - would now be held back until May 2019.

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It is also unlikely that faster two-carriage train units, known as 'Class 172s', will be available in December either. This means capacity is unlilkely to be increase until May 2019.

West Midlands Railway, which operates Kenilworth Station, is part of West Midlands Trains.

In a statement, Francis Thomas, head of corporate affairs at West Midlands Trains, said: "We have already put a lot of work and preparation into the timetable improvements planned for December this year, and our preparations are on schedule."

"We are therefore disappointed that we will not be able to go forward with these plans until May, but understand that these decisions have been made to reflect the network wide situation.

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"The new West Midlands Trains timetable, when it does come into effect, will benefit thousands of passengers with extra trains and new journey opportunities, and is designed to support the progress and prosperity of the regions we serve."

May's timetable changes, some of the biggest in recent years, caused many problems up and down the country.

Sir Peter Hendy, chair of Network Rail, said: "The railway industry has taken a long hard look at its plans for the next timetable change in December and, taking into account recent painful lessons, the industry has scaled back its ambition and tempered it with a more cautious, phased approach to introducing the new timetable.

"While there will still be new services introduced this December, other new services will now be introduced more gradually over the next few timetable changes to help smooth their introduction and maintain a reliable service for passengers and businesses alike."

Kenilworth currently has an hourly service in each direction between Coventry and Leamington, with no Sunday services.