A more frequent replacement bus service for Kenilworth Railway Station will begin tomorrow as trains continue to be suspended.

Operator West Midlands Railway said it had responded to customer feedback and promised "a more regular frequency throughout the day" of replacement buses from Monday, January 17.

The new timetable will see buses match the previous hourly trains through Kenilworth.

But WMR is still unable to confirm when trains will return to the Nuneaton to Leamington Spa line.

The company cancelled all train services in December "until further notice" due to staff shortages caused by Covid-19.

The suspension came just days after WMR announced it would return to a full timetable in Kenilworth from the end of January 2022.

The station recovery group was given assurances last year that a service could resume later this January if staff number return to normal.

Speaking at Thursday's Kenilworth Town Council meeting Cllr Richard Dickson said: "The group was given many reassurances from West Midlands Rail service that train services will be resuming at the end of the month, providing that they have got all the drivers they need to be trained and there is no further deterioration in the Covid situation.

"There is a lot of pressure being put on West Midlands Railways at the moment to ensure that the service is resumed. Especially as the bus service which has replaced it, does not match it on an hourly basis."

But the rail company was unable to give a firm commitment as to when trains would resume.

"We are keeping our staffing levels under review as we continue to feel the impact of the Omicron variant," A WMR spokesperson said to Nub News.

"With community cases still at high levels, a significant number of railway staff are currently unable to work.

"In order to reduce the necessity to cancel trains at short notice due to staff shortages, we are running a reduced timetable until further notice on a number of our routes, including rail replacement buses between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa."

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