Coventry City Council joins BCIMO as its Main Event Partner for its upcoming Family Day, offering local families and rail enthusiasts the chance to ride the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR).
The partnership between BCIMO and Coventry City Council has been fundamental to forming the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley. This centre was established to support the development of the emerging Very Light Rail industry and innovation across the wider rail sectors. As part of this collaboration, Coventry City Council secured Government funding to help prepare the centre for its role in enabling the research and development of the CVLR vehicle.
Since 2022, the CVLR demonstrator, a battery-operated, zero-emission transport system capable of carrying up to 60 passengers (20 seated), has been tested at BCIMO’s Rail Development & Test Site. The system offers an alternative way to travel, complementing existing public transport. It is sustainable, cost-effective, and will help improve air quality while reducing congestion. It will be a hop-on-hop-off urban transport system with no overhead cables and potentially driverless in the future.
As the leading event partner, Coventry City Council will give visitors to Family Day a unique experience: ride the CVLR demonstrator along BCIMO’s whole test track, through the iconic Dudley Railway Tunnel, and around the loop. The vehicle can accommodate up to 20 passengers on this day. This will be the only time people can ride the vehicle at the Dudley site before it relocates to Coventry to run on a 220-metre section of VLR track in May and June.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration, and Climate Change at Coventry City Council, said: Very Light Rail is the beginning of our plans to revolutionise transport in Coventry. The Family Day in Dudley provides the first opportunity for the public to experience a ride ahead of it moving to Coventry for on-road testing. CVLR can potentially change how people move around smaller cities and towns. It’s green, has the potential to provide a hop-on, hop-off service, and it’s a fraction of the price of conventional tram systems, thanks to our very clever track. It’s great that people can ride on it and experience it in Dudley, where it has been shuttling up and down as part of testing and soon in our city centre.
Neil Fulton, CEO of BCIMO, added: We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with Coventry City Council. Their early support was crucial in helping us develop the facilities that have enabled the programme team to test and advance their Very Light Rail system. As the Main Event Partner for Family Day, we’re excited to offer the public this exclusive opportunity to experience the CVLR demonstrator firsthand, showcasing the exciting potential of sustainable transport for the future.
To learn more about the event, buy tickets, or get involved in other ways, please visit the BCIMO Family Day website page.