Coventry City Council’s cabinet looks set to approve the construction of an on-road test of its ground-breaking Very Light Rail track and electric vehicle for four weeks during summer 2025.
Following successful trials of the track and vehicle at Dudley, the Council is planning to run the vehicle on 220m of track along Greyfriars Road and Queen Victoria Road.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration and Climate Change, said: “The trial will allow us to showcase the technology in the city centre as well as testing the revolutionary track-laying system which can be installed without significant disruption to utilities such as gas and water pipes.
This is a major step in our-going testing of Very Light Rail and it’s fantastic that we’re going to be able to demonstrate this innovation and prove, right here in our city centre, that it works.
“Very Light Rail is just one part of our wider ambition to decarbonise transport, tackle climate change and improve air quality and everything we are doing to be the country’s first Electric City.
“Residents will be able to ride the vehicle during the four-week trial and details about how to apply to experience the city’s ground-breaking system will be published on the council website next year
“I look forward to travelling on our vehicle on our track and in our city and would invite all residents to sign up to what is a stepping stone towards our journey to a greener, cleaner future.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, said: “Connecting our communities through an expanded tram network is a key part of my vision for a more affordable and accessible transport system.
“Very Light Rail has the potential to deliver that faster and at a fraction of the usual cost, putting our region at the forefront of innovation. This demonstrator track shows just how close we are to making this cutting-edge technology a reality for the West Midlands.”
Coventry’s Very Light Rail will provide an alternative to the traditionally expensive process of bringing a light rail system to a city: it has no overhead cables and simply requires a shallow track to be laid. What’s more – the innovative track can be laid without the need to move many of the service cables that are laid under roads. And its this unique shallow but strong track that will make Coventry Very Light Rail cheaper and quicker to lay – making it more affordable and causing less disruption during construction.
The CVLR project is currently funded via West Midlands Combined Authority and HMG through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.