Rail vehicle in its home city, its been confirmed that the 220 metre test track has now been fully laid. The track is on Greyfriars Road and Queen Victoria Road and is the first time that the innovative modular track form has been embedded within a live urban corridor.
Laying of the track has been completed with all Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) slabs aligned along with the alignment, welding and fastening of the grooved rails. Full slab bedding is also complete – the result is that there is a structurally sound and installation-complete track form, ready to accept the CVLR vehicle.
The coming weeks will see the team finalise the installation of the structural health monitoring system, rail drainage, and rail-to-pavement interface components before embedding rails in asphalt pavement. The complete construction phase should be completed in early May (the press release was out on 6th May).
Dr Christopher Micallef, CVLR track programme lead at Coventry City Council, said: “This milestone represents a step-change in the technology readiness level of the novel CVLR track system. Having progressed through concept design, laboratory testing, and a series of increasingly complex pilot installations in controlled environments, we are now proving the system in a dense, operational urban corridor for the first time.”
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration, and Climate Change at Coventry City Council, added: “This is a significant step forward for the CVLR project and how cities like Coventry can rethink public transport infrastructure. We are not just piloting technology, we are building confidence in a scalable model that puts climate, community, and cost-effectiveness at the heart of urban mobility. And I’m pleased to say that this innovation has been born out of our manufacturing skills in this city and the wider region. The green economy is growing, and CVLR is at the heart of that here.”
The track alignment has been deliberately chosen to test real-world challenges typical of dense city centres. It traverses a longitudinal gradient between 1.5% and 3.5%, incorporates a 30 metre radius curve, and applies a continuous cant to facilitate compatibility with existing road geometry.
As part of the claimed benefits of Very Light Rail is that it will be cheaper and less disruptive, the project team are keen to say how no full road closures or traffic diversions were required. It also interfaces with all primary below ground services, including water, gas, electricity, and telecommunications. It has a shallow 300mm excavation depth and integrated utility access chambers which meant no major service relocation was needed.
The public tests will be taking place in late May and early June. After these have been completed, the site will be returned to regular highway use, but will continue to serve as a long-term testbed. Regular road traffic will contribute live loading to the track form, providing essential data to validate the system’s performance over time.
Long-term its hoped that the project will lead to a full Very Light Rail system in Coventry. If the trial is deemed a success and the DfT can be persuaded to release additional funding to make the dream become a reality.