Transport Design International (TDI) has won a tender to create a state-of-the-art, lightweight, battery-operated, rail-guided vehicle which will ultimately be capable of operating without a driver. The prototype will be tested at Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley. The project will be managed by researchers from Warwick Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick in collaboration between Coventry City Council and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM). The VLR system will be compatible with Midland.
The prototype is expecting to enter tests in 2020 and Coventry intends to construct a very light rail in 2024.
The prototype vehicle will be capable of carrying 20 seated passengers and a maximum of 70 including standees. It will be tested at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley before a permanent tracked route is installed across Coventry and a fleet of vehicles manufactured.
The project is funded by Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Devolution Deal.
A total of GBP 12.2 million (EUR 14 million) has been secured from the WMCA funding to undertake the research and development required to prove the VLR concept. In addition, the WMCA has allocated specialist resource from Transport for West Midlands to provide technical support, advice and guidance to the project team as the scheme develops.
TDI and Warwick Warwick Manufacturing Group are part of the Revolution VLR Consortium which is dedicated to the development of next generation, ‘very light rail’ technology. The consortium will develop a fully operational very light rail hybrid DMU demonstrator, using lightweight materials and a modular structure to achieve a tare weight of less than one tonne per linear metre. Revolution VLR Consortium also includes Eversholt Rail, Prose AG, RDM Group and Transcal Engineering.
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