The Coventry "Very Light Railway" is hoped to be in operation by 2024.
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-news-trams-light-railway-15976213
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-news-trams-light-railway-15976213
Coventry Telegraph
Trams to run on Coventry's streets for first time since The Blitz
It has also been revealed that ultimately the tram-style carriages will be self-driving
The route and launch date of Coventry's new tram system have been unveiled.
Plans for the 'very light railway' are firmly on track - with a chosen launch route and a pledge they will be running by 2024.
The people behind the project have also revealed that, ultimately, the electric tram-style carriages will be self-driving.
The system, which has the advantage of being a fraction of the cost of conventional trams, is set to be in operation in just five years.
Once a familiar sight in places like Broadgate and the Burges, the Coventry Blitz of 1940 put an end to the city’s tram services.
The very light rail (VLR) system, which will use electric-powered vehicles on a light and highly portable track system, will run between Coventry railway station and University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) via the city centre.
The system is now at an advanced design stage with 3D simulations of what the vehicles will look like revealed for the first time.
The project involves engineers and researchers at WMG, University of Warwick, working alongside Stratford-based company Transport Design International (TDI).
They are working on the technology involved, with Coventry City Council at the forefront of plans to see it become a reality in the city.
TDI have partnered with Coventry-based Company RDM who will manufacture the vehicle once the design is complete.
Up until now two potential routes have been suggested - Coventry railway station to the University of Warwick and the railway station to UHCW.
Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for jobs and regeneration Cllr Jim O’Boyle said the launch route will link the railway station and UHCW, with the aim of it being up and running by 2024.
It has also been revealed that ultimately the system will be autonomous.
Speaking at a special event to mark the project’s progress Nick Mallinson of WMG said the plan was for a prototype vehicle to be produced some time in 2020.
The rise and fall of Coventry's trams
And revealing the team’s self-driving operation hopes he said: “Ultimately we would like to see autonomous operation.
“I am not going to say whether it will be five year, or ten years, or whatever but we are going to run a third project alongside the vehicle and the track projects.
“The idea is that system will go on to a Birmingham tram.
“It won’t be controlling the tram, it will shadow the driver - the driver will be in control.
“After a couple of years we hope to be able to say the system is safe and we will transfer it to Coventry.
“When the time is right we should be able to press a button and the system is autonomous.”
Cllr O’Boyle said the drive behind adopting the very light rail system in Coventry was threefold.
He said it was about cost, Coventry being at the forefront of developing new technology and having something that was unique.
He said: “We have not really had a transport system that is unique or different in Coventry and I thought why not.
“Coventry and Warwickshire are at the forefront of some of the most revolutionary technologies.”
Cllr O’Boyle added that if the system proves a success the it could be rolled out elsewhere, boosting business and jobs in Coventry and Warwickshire.
And he said the choice of UHCW as the first destination for very light rail made a lot of sense.
He said: “UHCW is one of our biggest log-jams as anyone who has recently gone there and tried to park will know.
“That seems to us to be the obvious place to launch and that will be our first route.”
The very light rail trams will hold 50 passengers, and it is hoped the system will work like the London Underground, where there is no timetable and people can hop on and off.
The vehicle will be of a lightweight design using multiple materials including aluminium, steel and composites.
Due to being battery-powered there will be no overhead power supply, as there would be with conventional trams.
Where the funding is coming from
The Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has contributed £2.46 million towards phase one of the research and design of the prototype and £12.2 million has been secured from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Devolution Deal to undertake the research and development required to prove the VLR concept.
Dr Darren Hughes, WMG, said: “The Coventry light-rail system will be innovative in bringing together technologies from a number of sectors to deliver a low-cost environmentally-sustainable public transport solution for the city of Coventry.
“Seeing the 3D simulation and envisaging how it will look within Coventry makes us look forward to building the first vehicle that will be ready for testing at a test track facility during 2020.”
Jonathan Browning, chair of the CWLEP, said: “Coventry and Warwickshire is at the forefront of battery technology and this exciting scheme emphasises our skills at leading the way in innovation.
“This new technology will bring more jobs and investment to Coventry and Warwickshire and it underlines the value of partnership working to boost the area’s economy.”
A CGI of how the very light rail tram-style carriages destined for Coventry will look.
Note that the article includes extra pictures including pictures of Coventry's old tram system.
