WMCA agrees £36.8m ‘kick-start’ for VLR
Investment will enable city centre demonstration track in Coventry and development of business cases for fully-operational Very Light Rail in the West Midlands.
FUNDING that will allow a demonstration track to be built in the centre of Coventry for the city’s proposed Very Light Rail (VLR) system has been agreed as part of a multimillion pound programme of investment aimed at bringing fully-operational VLR routes to fruition in the West Midlands.
In January, the board of West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) approved the first instalment (£36.8 million) of £71.5 million earmarked for what it described as a ‘kickstart’ to VLR projects.
The funds will be drawn from WMCA’s five-year City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which was announced by the Government last year.
Subject to final approval from the Department for Transport, Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) will receive the bulk of that total investment.
Designed by WMG (part of the University of Warwick) and Transport Design International, and assembled at NP Aerospace’s Coventry factory, the demonstration vehicle for the system, which will use battery rather than overhead electric power, is currently based at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC) in Dudley.
In partnership with
Ingerop and its UK subsidiary Rendel, WMG has also developed a track form that is easier to install than that of conventional tram operations. Set 30 centimetres (11.8 inches) into the road surface, its use could avoid the need to move underground utilities. It is claimed this could more than halve the cost of each kilometre of new route laid.
‘Kick-start’ budget
A total of £54.5 million from the ‘kick-start’ budget will be allocated to CVLR. Work will include the construction of a test/demonstration line in Coventry city centre to allow vehicle and track research and development in a ‘real world’ environment, examining market potential for VLR, designing a first route corridor for the Coventry system and compiling evidence to support an Outline Business Case and Transport & Works Order for it.
VLRNIC, opened in Dudley last year to accelerate development of the technology (see December 2022 issue), will receive £12 million for equipment and facilities to support testing and offline research and development work for CVLR, and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is due to be allocated £5 million to examine options for the use of VLR on key transport corridors. TfWM also plans to investigate potential use of the CVLR track form on the West Midlands
Metro system to reduce the costs of maintenance and route extensions.
It is expected that business cases will be developed for one or two VLR schemes. Previously discussed proposals to extend the WMM system, along Hagley Road in Birmingham, from Wolverhampton city centre to New Cross Hospital, and using the disused rail route from Wednesbury to Walsall, are thought to be possible contenders.
CVLR-type track could also provide an option for reducing the financial burden for completion of the 6.8 mile Wednesbury-Brierley Hill route. The Wednesbury-Dudley section is due to open in 2024, but WMCA is still searching for funding to complete the second phase to Brierley
Hill, to make up a shortfall estimated to be as high as £300 million. A combination of rising construction and energy costs and reduced revenue from fares during the Covid-19 pandemic have been blamed.
BODEN Rail has decided to sell pioneer ‘Hoover’ No. 50050 (D400) Fearless to help fund growing the depot at Nottingham Eastcroft. It is being sold for main line use only and has all necessary safety systems fitted for this.
According to an advert on the wnxx.com website, the loco is described as very reliable, with 16 new liners fitted during an engine overhaul and the radiator banks overhauled. It is dual-braked, fitted with a pre-heater, has electronic AVR (automatic voltage regulator) and the thinnest tyre is 50mm.
THE Royal Mint has announced Flying Scotsman is to grace a commemorative coin. The £2 Flying Scotsman coin is available to buy as part of The Royal Mint’s annual set – the first annual sets release to feature a coinage portrait of King Charles III.
The Royal Mint told The RM it was unable to confirm a date for when the coin will launch individually, but said it will be in coming months. More ‘66s’ for GBRf
GB Railfreight has announced a 10-year leasing deal with Akiem for 11 Class 66 and 77 (Euro-spec ‘66s’) and Class 66 locomotives, which will arrive in Britain between January 2023 and May 2024. The locos will be converted for UK use at EMD’s Roberts Road depot in Doncaster, with the first due to enter service in summer. WHR competition
IN ADDITION to a gala to celebrate the centenary of the Welsh Highland Railway over the weekend of June 23-25, the winner of a £500 research competition into the railway’s history, sponsored by The RM and its sister publication Heritage Railway, will be announced.
Email nick.booker@ welshhighlandheritage. co.uk for full details of the competition’s rules, including on what criteria the judges will base their decision.
First use of royal train
KING Charles used the royal train for the first time as the monarch on January 20 for a visit to Manchester and Bolton. He travelled overnight from Ayr after staying at Dumfries House, the base of The Prince’s Foundation, for a few days hosting a series of meetings and receiving a variety of guests.