Plans for a new rail line directly linking Coventry and Warwickshire to HS2 have been unveiled.
The bid to resurrect the historic Stonebridge railway in north Warwickshire would provide direct passenger services to the new HS2 Interchange station, near the NEC.
The man behind the ambitious plan is Whitacre Heath-based quantity surveyor Michael Byng, seeking to attract Chinese and Asian investment for the Coventry and Warwickshire rail network.
He is also developing a bid with the same investors to buy Coventry City Football Club and the Ricoh Arena - served by a Ricoh station on the new Nuckle train service, which could also now be linked to HS2.
The £240 million project would see seven miles of new track laid on the route of the disused Victorian Stonebridge railway, incorporating Hampton-in-Arden and the Whitacre area of north Warwickshire.
It would enable direct links to and from the new HS2 Interchange to Coventry, Nuneaton, Coleshill, Tamworth and further afield, including Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth, south Birmingham and the Black Country.
The scheme’s backers, Mr Byng and Kenilworth-based rail enthusiast Alan Marshall, say it would cut journey times to the HS2 Interchange for Coventry and Warwickshire commuters.
Mr Marshall said services would link to a new four-platform station next to the HS2 interchange, which would have a quick “people mover” service to Birmingham airport.
He added: “It would create a combined air and rail international terminal. It would provide work for construction in the region and transport benefits.”
Mr Marshall said the scheme could seek to attract a combination of private and public sector funding. He added the line could potentially open by 2018.
