£100m scheme could reconnect the East and West Midlands by 2030

A PROPOSAL by Midlands Connect will be taken forward to a full business case with the aim of reinstating direct rail services between Nottingham, Leicester and Coventry.

Midlands Connect says the plan would vastly improve connectivity and also work towards decarbonisation.

There were direct services until 2004, but with the removal of pointwork south of Nuneaton station as part of the West Coast Route upgrade, trains lost direct access into the platforms that are used to access the Coventry line.

Present journey times can take between 54 and 78 mins, depending on connection times at Nuneaton, but with Leicester and Coventry just 25 miles apart and connected via the M69 motorway, it’s not surprising only 3% of all travellers use rail. Midlands Connect believes, backed by a public survey, that this could rise to 30% (two million passengers annually) with a direct service.

Line speed between Nuneaton and Coventry would need to be increased from 45 to 60mph. The Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) is between one and two, and could, with track, signalling and infrastructure changes, cost £100 million to deliver.

Within the project is a proposal for a dive-under at the West Coast Main Line south of Nuneaton station near the site of the old steam loco shed, however, the big dilemma facing planners is whether trains call at or bypass Nuneaton.

Karen Heppinstall, from Midlands Connect, said there was a delicate balance to strike, and more services as well as proposals for a freight terminal five miles away at Hinckley could change the thinking. She added it was very much work in progress and they would listen to stakeholders’ views to strike an optimum balance.

An outline business case will be presented to the DfT by the end of 2022, and a full one by 2023/4 with the aim of project delivery between 2025 and 2030.

■ Midlands Connect is one of seven sub-national transport bodies investing in rail projects in the Midlands.