Skip to main content

Coventry – Leicester – Nottingham

What is the scheme?

Currently, just 3% of trips between Coventry and Leicester are made by train; compared to 30% of journeys made between Coventry and Birmingham. This is because passengers travelling between Coventry and Leicester by train have to change at Nuneaton, resulting in a slow and inconvenient journey.

Average speeds for trains between Coventry and Leicester currently fall under 30mph, compared to average speeds of over 100mph for trains from Coventry to London.

Midlands Connect’s plans would reinstate direct rail services between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham for the first time in two decades, by creating a dive-under at Nuneaton.

What are the benefits?

  • Journey time improvements by up to 50 minutes
  • £400m in benefits and £143m in wider economic benefits
  • £1 invested equals £2.10 in benefits
  • 3,000 new jobs created
  • Open up 70+ visitor attractions with direct routes

What happens next?

Our Strategic Outline Business Case was submitted to the Department for Transport in Spring 2025 and should this be successful, the next stage will be the submission of an Outline Business Case.

This will require more detailed work on the engineering aspects of the project, as well as further investigation into the benefits.