Railway station officially opens

A 'test' train was run to the station ahead of its opening to the public

A new multi-million pound railway station in Warwickshire has been officially opened.

More than 100 people a day are already using Coleshill Parkway which opened last month.

MPs and council officials were among guests at the event which included a presentation to the son of the last stationmaster of the old station.

The £9m transport project includes a park and ride service connecting to the M42 and local roads.

Destinations served by services at the new station include Birmingham, Leicester and Stansted Airport.

New jobs

The scheme was co-funded by the Department for Transport, Warwickshire County Council and John Laing, with developer contributions secured by North Warwickshire Borough Council.

Lee White, the project sponsor for Warwickshire County Council, said the new station was very important because Coleshill had "doubled in size".

"We've got the new Hams Hall industrial estate with nearly 5,000 jobs there just across the tracks," he said.

"It's absolutely essential Coleshill and the wider area is opened up for people going to Birmingham, Nuneaton and Leicester and for people coming into Coleshill to do all the new jobs."

The Minister of State for Transport, Richard Bowker, made a presentation to Chris Perkins, the son of the last stationmaster of the old Coleshill Station, which was demolished in 1968.