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A long-awaited train station at Kenilworth has finally been given the go ahead by the government.

Plans for a new £11.3 million station were given the final nod under the government’s multi-million pound New Stations Fund.

Services from the new station could be up and running as early as December 2016 after the Department for Transport approved the allocation of £5 million of funding.

Approval was delayed while government sought confirmation that the station can be built without adversely impacting other network improvements.

The new Coventry-Kenilworth-Leamington service is expected to tackle road congestion, and link to other services including phase one of the new Nuckle passenger service between Coventry and Nuneaton, stopping at a new Ricoh Arena station.

Future work to improve the network could mean direct local electric trains running via Kenilworth to Birmingham in 2019.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “The government recognises the importance of strong transport links for local communities and the economy.

“That is why we have been working hard to make sure Kenilworth station becomes a reality.

“This will provide real benefits both to passengers and to local businesses, providing improved connectivity across the West Midlands and to London, and helping create jobs.

“This is further proof of the government’s determination to transform the network through our record levels of investment.”

The Transport Secretary initially announced during a public meeting in July that he was minded to approve the bid from project sponsor Warwickshire County Council, subject to further work being carried out by Network Rail to assess its viability.

The £5 million investment for Kenilworth represents the biggest single allocation since the launch of the New Stations Fund and is part of £38 billion being invested in modernising railways from 2014 to 2019.

The Victorian Kenilworth station was closed under the Beeching proposals in 1965.

The new station will be built very close to the former station which has since made way for housing, at a site currently occupied by DIY merchants Buildbase in Priory Road, which would relocate.