Hope for A5 bridge relief

A CONFERENCE organised by sub-national transport body Midlands Connect, held in Hinckley on October 21, heard speakers explain how crucial it is not only for the A5 trunk road to be upgraded, but to also have the issue over the notorious lowheight railway bridge resolved. The bridge was once the most hit in the UK. One proposal for the bridge, put forward by a developer wanting to create an industrial estate on adjacent land, is to lower the road to make it accessible for vehicles in excess of the current limit of 15 feet. Delegates heard about proposals for Government funding for the A5 road which would, if forthcoming, dovetail with proposals to build a new station, Nuneaton Parkway, close to the A5 between Hinckley and Nuneaton. This new station would also fit with separate plans by Midlands Connect to reinstate a direct rail service between Nottingham and Coventry. Over the border in Warwickshire, the county council has long-term aspirations to build five other new stations. One will be located at Rugby Parkway, close to the DIRFT (Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal) and the large Houlton housing development on the Northampton line. Others are proposed for Galley Common & Stockingford on the Nuneaton-Birmingham line, while on the Derby-Birmingham line there are station proposals at Kingsbury, and Polesworth Parkway, which would close to the B5000 road and between the existing single platform station on the West Coast Main Line and Atherstone. There is also hope of a station located between Coventry and Kenilworth and having the benefit of serving the Warwick University campus. Most stations would be close to planned new housing schemes, which are part of development projects covering the period until 2035.