Latest news with #CVLR
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Cleaner, greener and absolute reliability': trams make UK comeback
In a sidestreet in central Coventry, a possible vehicle of the future has been making its first public foray: a 60-seat, battery-powered miniature tram. On smooth, almost silent, test runs, its pioneering wheel system allows it to round the corner without slowing – a small bend for this tram but a sharp turning point for tramkind. The embryonic Coventry very light rail (CVLR) is riding a bigger wave; suddenly, trams are go again. British cities trail Europe but once led the way, before retiring the hundreds of street trams that once flowered under horse and steam power. And although the likes of Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham re-established tram networks, the number of modern revivals were almost matched by the list of cancelled projects, with schemes for Liverpool, Bristol, central London and Leeds dropped. But now the dreams are back – and funded. In the run-up to next week's spending review, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed £15bn for cities to develop urban transport. That money will be spent partly on new tram lines in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, as well as developing plans for a possible tram line from Bristol to Bath. Notably, it includes £2.1bn for the biggest city in Europe without a fixed transit system – Leeds. For the West Yorkshire mayor, who has long campaigned to get the city its tram, the announcement was critical. 'This gives us absolute certainty and security that we will have spades in the ground by 2028,' Tracy Brabin says. While Brabin has championed enhanced bus routes and services, two tram lines – one running from Leeds to Bradford – will be the backbone of an integrated mass transit system. 'There is a reason why European cities have trams,' Brabin says. 'They can carry three times as many people. They are often segregated, so they are reliable. And you can time your journey. It's absolute reliability: you go to the tram stop, and the tram is there in a few minutes. It's also cleaner and greener.' Brabin says the Leeds-Bradford line will benefit 675,000 people. 'That's massive – not just for people on the line, but to also unlock areas that have really struggled. The tram connectivity will absolutely unlock housing and development,' she says. Perhaps the tram, or light rail, has suffered as neither fish nor fowl: never boasting the speed of a train or the solidity of a railway station for the passenger; nor, for the public purse and politicians, the lower infrastructure investment and higher flexibility of a bus network. Yet this halfway house has multiple benefits – and modern innovations may provide the answer. So why don't more people want them? David Andrews, the chair of the campaign group Tram Forward, says: 'The cost is one thing but mainly the disruption. People don't want trams because they worry about the disruption, and it's true that in Edinburgh it went on for years. But if you can just lay it on the surface, you can do it overnight.' Battery-operated trams are starting to appear around the world, from Florence in Italy to Doha in Qatar, potentially cheaper than installing and maintaining an overhead wire network, although Andrews says that concerns that the lines are unsightly can be overblown: 'In Vienna, you've got the cables pinned to the side of the Grand Opera House and people don't notice them.' The bigger element of the cost and disruption of laying a tram network is what lies beneath the road: the pipelines for gas, electricity, telecoms and water. Traditionally, for a heavier tram, installing rails has meant digging down several feet and having to divert utilities. It is a slow and costly process that helped push the price of building Edinburgh's 11-mile tram line to more than £1bn, and drove residents and businesses to distraction over years of construction delays affecting the heart of the city. Engineers now believe much of that can be avoided, by laying concrete slabs with embedded rails over the roads: excavating only 300mm from the surface and leaving the pipes in place. The lightest footprint yet may be found in Coventry, where the public can try out a local innovation bringing its automotive tradition and new battery developments into what it terms Very Light Rail. Using a smaller, composite vehicle – carrying about 60 people but weighing less than half the tonnage of a normal tram – the CVLR team says the cost of installing a track can be halved, down to about £10m a kilometre from typically £25m (costs have reached £100m a kilometre on some projects). Pioneering bogies – the wheel-axle system underneath a tram or train – allow the vehicle to make much tighter turns, permitting routes through narrower city streets. Riding the prototype, the city councillor, Jim O'Boyle, says: 'The vehicle itself can go around 15-metre radii. But the alchemy is the track beneath.' The concrete slabs and rails were installed with a fraction of the disruption of a traditional tram line. The 220-metre test track here was laid within weeks – not much more disruptive than resurfacing a road, the engineers claim. Running on battery, there are no overhead wires. Yet for a tram this size, why not simply run a bus? Nicola Small, the CVLR programme director, says: 'It's permanent infrastructure. People can see that the tracks have been laid and that it's here to stay. They know where the route's going because they can see it and that gives them confidence – and it also gives businesses confidence to invest in the area, because they know that there's going to be that connectivity.' Intriguingly, research shows that while car drivers avoid buses, there is no such stigma about the tram. Small says: 'From looking at statistics, most bus users are non-car owners, so they are using the bus because they have to. Whereas when you look at people who travel by train and tram, many of them have left a car at home so they are making a choice.' The other saving that the CVLR scheme could offer is through autonomy – or driverless vehicles, minimising staffing costs and allowing more trams to run on fixed routes. The city hopes to license the technology and produce the vehicles, joining the West Midlands' automotive legacy with plans for a gigafactory, as well as build a better transport network for Coventry. The publicly funded pilot project is being delivered by a consortium of partners, including local industry and academia. The tram will run at a maximum of 19-25mph (30-40km/h) – though O'Boyle claims to have got it up to 37mph when allowed to drive on another test track. For now, the vehicle of the future is doing little more than 12mph on its brief foray down Greyfriars Road. A couple of seconds around the corner, the brakes are applied and we are at the end of the track. And the 50-second ride is over? O'Boyle shakes his head: 'The ride is only just beginning.'
Metro
07-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
Inside the new £189,000,000 futuristic 'very light' transport system
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A city dubbed the UK's 'motor capital' is about to change when a new £189,000,000 light train system launches. The Coventry Very Light Rail network, labelled 'like tram but better,' is one step closer to opening in the city, which is not usually known for its public transport provision. First of its kind in the country, one battery-powered very light rail train can whisk around 60 passengers when the system fully opens. The system has been labelled cheaper and more flexible than traditional railways. While the final route has not been confirmed yet, people now have a chance to test it out themselves to see what the fuss is about. A local father-and-son train driver team from RailAdventure UK will operate the test service on a 721-foot track. Dad Graham Dibbins said it is 'an extraordinary feeling to be involved in such an innovative project and at the same time to be working with my son for the first time in a professional capacity as train drivers.' His son Joe Dibbins said he can't believe he is 'working with the one person I respect more than anyone else – my dad.' The on-road tests, able to carry 17 passengers in one go, will run in Coventry city centre for a limited time only in May and June. If you want to give it a go, book your free place here. Councillor Jim O'Boyle, a cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at the council, said the 'green' CVLR system will 'revolutionise transport in Coventry.' He continued: 'Very Light Rail is just the beginning of our plans to revolutionise transport in our city, tackle climate change, improve air quality, and provide a reliable and accessible travel option. 'We will be running Very Light Rail for four weeks, and residents will have the opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind vehicle and track system and provide feedback on the experience.' The cost of construction is the first thing that sets it apart from the OG railways. Although the new system is more affordable to build than laying traditional tram or train tracks, it is still not cheap. The estimated cost per one kilometre (0.6 miles) is £10,000,000, while a traditional tram can cost up to £30,000,000 to install for the same distance. The new track sits just under 11 inches (30cm) within the road surface, minimising expensive and time-consuming works to relocate pipes and cables, the council said. The VLR system is powered by batteries, meaning that, unlike trams, there is no need for overhead wires. The electric, very light rail system has been touted as a way to bring disused railway lines back into action. There are no definite plans to build ultra-light rail systems in London, but TfL and the London Assembly have discussed and reviewed the option over the years. Major rail operators are said to have shown interest in the very light rail systems, and further trials are planned to start in 2026. In London, the closest to the new train system is the tram network, which still runs across the southern boroughs. The history of London trams goes back to more than 200 years, but there were times it almost disappeared for good. Self-driving vehicles are expected to be on the UK roads by 2026, the government has said, opening the door for more autonomous rail systems. More Trending The Coventry very light rail has been developed to allow autonomous operation in the future. Pedestrians, cyclists and disabled passengers will have 'sufficient provision' on the new routes when they open, the council confirmed. Money for the £189,000,000 system comes from the UK government, the West Midlands combined authority, the Coventry and Warwickshire local enterprise partnership and the council. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Major travel requirement change you need to fly across US comes into effect today MORE: Commuters are saying the same thing about this 'terrible' Avanti trains feature MORE: This is what happens when someone dies on a cruise ship
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Two companies announced as sponsors for Dudley family day event
TWO companies have been announced as gold sponsors for a family day event in Dudley. X2 Workspaces and Neutrino Global Ltd are supporting the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO) family day on Saturday, May 17. The event is part of the Railway 200 celebrations, marking 200 years since the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825. It will be held at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC) in Dudley. The day will include stalls from businesses and organisations, fairground rides, live entertainment and a variety of food and drink options. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ride the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) vehicle along the full test track. This will take passengers through the Dudley railway tunnel and around a 15m radius loop. The event will support five charities and will be opened by Pete Waterman OBE, president of the Railway Benefit Fund. Clive Poole, director at X2 Workspaces, said: "X2 Workspaces are proud to sponsor the BCIMO family day, reflecting our own values of supporting the community and innovation. "We were delighted to be involved in the innovation centre fit out two years ago, helping to create a standout functional collaboration space and innovative interior environment. "We are equally pleased to offer continued support as a partner to the organisation following this major project, through the provision of printed signage to help promote the event." Adam Taylor, director at Neutrino, said: "We're always delighted to support the live projects at BCIMO, they're a wonderful team and are a pleasure to work alongside. "The auditorium and exhibition hall are both excellent live event spaces; they're well provisioned with core AV equipment that we can augment on occasion and they couldn't be easier to integrate with." For more information about the event, including how to become a sponsor, buy tickets, or get involved in any other capacity, visit the BCIMO family day website page.
