Coventry's Affordable Very Light Rail Track Unveiled

  • As part of Coventry Very Light Rail (VLR), Coventry City Council's flagship transport project, a novel track form has been designed and manufactured by researchers from WMG, University of Warwick, together with their design partners Ingerop/Rendel.
  • The track sits just 30cm into the road surfacing, whereas traditional tram tracks typically involve digging a metre down and moving utilities such as water, gas and electricity.
  • As a result of its shallow depth and ability to be embedded in an existing highway the cost is significantly lower.
  • The urban VLR track may cost as little as £10m per km to install, compared to traditional trams which cost upwards of £25m per km, sometimes as much as £100m per km in city centre locations, making urban rail a possibility for smaller towns and cities in the future.

Unveiling of the VLR trackCoventry Very Light Rail (VLR) took a major step forward on 24 September as Coventry City Council and WMG, University of Warwick showcased a breakthrough new track design which aims to drive down the costs associated with the installation of urban light rail.

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