On track for success: WMG’s role in the future of transport
On track for success: WMG’s role in the future of transport
WMG’s pioneering research has helped create Coventry’s Very Light Rail system: an affordable, efficient and sustainable answer to public transport challenges, laying the tracks for global adoption.
(Credit: Coventry City Council)
Background: Reimagining public transport in Coventry
Since Coventry Corporation Tramways closed in 1940 due to wartime damage, the city has been left without a dedicated light rail system for over 80 years.
With the West Midlands at the heart of the UK’s automotive industry, home to manufacturing giants like Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover, public transport has historically taken a back seat to cars.
To ease congestion and improve air quality, Coventry City Council sought a new mass transit system for the city. Trams, valued for their reliability and convenience, play a key role in encouraging a shift from cars to public transport.
While cities like London or Edinburgh have adopted traditional, high-cost transport systems, this approach was not realistically achievable in Coventry.
To find a cost-effective yet robust solution, Coventry City Council approached WMG, University of Warwick, to improve transport for residents and better link the city with the wider West Midlands.
"Very Light Rail is just the beginning of our plans to revolutionise transport in our city, tackle climate change, improve air quality, and provide a reliable and accessible travel option."
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration, and Climate Change at Coventry City Council.
In 2016, nearly 80 years after the city’s last tram service, Coventry City Council announced the development of a world-first Very Light Rail (VLR) tram service, marking the start of the CVLR (Coventry Very Light Rail) Project.
Challenge: Bridging the gap: the need for an affordable transport solution
Both Coventry’s infrastructure and transport technology have changed dramatically since the original tram network was built in the late 1800s.
Installing a traditional light rail system in Coventry would be an expensive and disruptive challenge, requiring deep excavation and relocation of underground utilities such as gas, electricity, plumbing, and telecommunications.
With typical light rail installation costs being more than £50 million per kilometre, the Council wanted to achieve a target of £10 million per kilometre.
WMG, an academic department at the University of Warwick and a global leader in science, technology and engineering, was already exploring smarter, lower-cost rail technologies.
Recognising WMG’s unique blend of academic expertise and cutting-edge research, along with its proximity to Coventry; the council saw an opportunity to develop, manufacture, and test a next-generation light rail system within the West Midlands.
WMG partnered with Transport Design International (TDI) to lead the early development of CVLR, focusing on pioneering vehicle design.
(Professor Darren Hughes, WMG.)
Solution: Delivering a robust, affordable Light Rail alternative
WMG’s challenge was to create an autonomous-ready, battery-powered vehicle and a durable, low-cost track to deliver sustainable public transport in Coventry City Centre.
Unlike traditional tramways, which require costly and disruptive track installation, the team designed CVLR for fast, affordable implementation.
Funded by Coventry City Council and West Midlands Combined Authority, and led by Professor Darren Hughes, the WMG team explored cutting-edge technologies to develop an advanced track and vehicle system.
“The Council said, ‘we would like a tram system for Coventry, but the cost is far too high currently,” explained Professor Hughes; “£50 million per kilometre for a full route requires huge investment, and essentially we were posed the question: Could you build a tram system that’s affordable, coming in at £10m per kilometre?”
The track
The driving force behind CVLR’s affordability is its pioneering track slab design, developed by WMG in partnership with Rendel and Ingerop.
Manufactured locally in Staffordshire, the track is made from Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC), which is far stronger than traditional concrete. This allows thinner track slabs that can support both CVLR shuttles and heavy goods vehicles.
The CVLR track is designed to allow utilities to remain in place.
"In a world-first, we’re aiming to keep pipes and cables in the ground, lowering installation costs and making Coventry Very Light Rail possible in our city and across the country."
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council.
By limiting road excavation to just 30 centimetres, the system avoids major disruptions to existing infrastructure and underground utilities, dramatically cutting costs compared to conventional tram systems.
The track slabs are engineered to maintain their strength even when space is allocated for manholes, ensuring continued access for utility companies when needed.
"The main driver of the Coventry VLR project is to make light rail as affordable and environmentally friendly as possible, and the track is a major part of this."
Professor Darren Hughes, WMG.
The CVLR track is expected to cost just £10m per kilometre, a fraction of the £50m+ per kilometre required for conventional tram tracks, and significantly lower than the £100m per kilometre seen in some UK city centre locations.
While the track uses innovative materials, its rail and some fittings are standard and widely available, reducing costs further and ensuring compatibility with other light rail systems.
This standardised design allows the CVLR system to be available to other cities to extend existing tram networks, at a significantly reduced cost. The Midlands Metro system in Birmingham as a prime example.
(CVLR shuttle and Council House, Coventry.)
The vehicle
Developed by WMG in collaboration with TDI, the CVLR shuttle is a single-carriage, battery-powered vehicle, eliminating the need for costly and unsightly overhead line equipment along its route.
With a capacity of 50 passengers, the vehicle’s compact design allows it to navigate narrow, winding city streets, further reducing the impact of light rail installation. To achieve this, the vehicle can handle a tight 15-metre radius curve, a key requirement for effective operation in complex city centre environments.
Professor Hughes said: “The vehicle has been constructed largely within Coventry with a reliance on a regional supply chain where possible, showing the strength in depth of local manufacturing. It is a unique vehicle with state-of-the-art technologies including an advanced battery powertrain and resilient glazing, making it even safer for public use.”
"The CVLR vehicle was specifically designed to integrate seamlessly with existing UK rail infrastructure. Its standard UK gauge ensures compatibility with other light rail networks, providing greater flexibility for future expansion."
Professor Darren Hughes, WMG.
Combined with a lighter, easier-to-install track, the battery-powered shuttle forms a complete system that’s fast to deploy and simple to maintain, offering a world-leading, cost-effective solution to urban transportation challenges.
(Credit: BCIMO.)
Test and demo tracks
In October 2022, WMG at the University of Warwick unveiled a real-world demo site, showcasing the new track slab designs and providing a testing facility for utility companies and city transport planners.
Following this, Coventry City Council installed a test track at Whitley Depot, assessing its durability under heavy goods vehicles before progressing to a larger testing facility in Dudley.
In 2023 the CVLR project hit a major milestone, with the successful test running of the new vehicle on its custom-made test track in Dudley, at the new Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC), which is a part of the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO).
The 2.2 kilometre test track includes a 15 metre radius curve to test the vehicle’s effectiveness in city centres and a longer straight track section to test vehicle acceleration, braking and speed characteristics.
The new charging system recharges a CVLR shuttle in under four minutes.
Testing at VLRNIC monitored vibrations, noise and structural stresses, demonstrating how CVLR minimises these compared to traditional tram systems. Tests also focussed on the efficient over-head charging system for the CVLR vehicle. The VLRNIC test phase paved the way for a real-world demonstration in the city centre in 2025.
Strategically located in the West Midlands, the test sites exemplify how CVLR taps into local supply chains, boosting the regional economy, securing jobs and showcasing the region’s manufacturing excellence.
Impact: A transformative project with global potential
CVLR promises to alleviate traffic congestion, improve air quality and provide an affordable and sustainable transport option for Coventry’s residents; the first major light rail option the city has had in over 80 years.
Sir Andy Street, former Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This very light rail project is a fantastic demonstration of collaboration across our region. Whether it’s the development at Dudley, the test track at the University of Warwick or soon enough the first route in Coventry city centre.”
"Designing and building a light rail service rapidly and at a fraction of the cost of regular Metro lines has the potential to transform our public transport network. Our region is ideally placed to become the home of the green industrial revolution."
Sir Andy Street, former Mayor of the West Midlands.
With typical light rail costing more than £50m per kilometre, WMG helped Coventry City Council achieve their target of £10m per kilometre, delivering an estimated 80% cost-saving for an affordable and innovative transport option for the city.
(Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council.)
From test tracks to City streets
The public will get their first chance to experience the future of public transport in Coventry this summer, as the vehicle and test track will be open for four weeks throughout May and June 2025.
A 220-metre demonstrator track running between Greyfriars Road and Queen Victoria Road is due to be up and running by the end of May 2025.
Councillor O'Boyle said: “I am really pleased that people now have the chance to get on and take a ride on our new system. It will run on tracks that were laid in just eight weeks, proving what we said about the speed and cost of this system, and it is, of course, developed and built here, thanks to the skills we have in this city in manufacturing.”
"CVLR is slick, impressive, accessible and will run quietly with zero emissions."
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council.
The council stated that the test line will be open to allow the public to give feedback on the vehicles and operation of the VLR system, before the first full line begins construction later in the year, the route of which is still undergoing development.
The council is targeting 2027 for the first full route to be installed, with potential lines in the network linking the city centre with the Coventry Building Society Arena, University Hospital, Coventry Airport and the University of Warwick.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and West Midlands Combined Authority chair, said: “Very Light Rail is a revolutionary technology being developed and delivered here in our region. The speed at which we can move from starting work to running a tram through Coventry city centre shows the world how fast and efficiently a tram system can be installed.”
Thanks to CVLR’s standardised yet affordable design, it can easily be extended to the existing West Midlands Metro, to further increase Coventry’s connectivity with the rest of the West Midlands.
"CVLR will play a huge role in delivering on my vision to connect more communities with affordable and accessible public transport."
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands.
WMG’s CVLR research lays the tracks for Global change
The partnership has delivered benefits not only for the city, but also for WMG at the University of Warwick too.
One of the largest projects the University has worked on, securing jobs, partnerships and funding; CVLR reflects WMG’s mission for an innovative and sustainable future.
Professor Hughes said: “WMG showcases excellence in automotive technologies and was able to tap into its multi-disciplinary researchers; from electrification, autonomy, materials and manufacturing, being able to disrupt the existing market that was locked due to costs.”
"WMG’s input changed the narrative of what was possible, by doing something different."
Professor Darren Hughes, WMG.
Beyond revolutionising VLR in the UK, CVLR has attracted global interest for its cost-effective, adaptable approach, with active discussions taking place with parties in Canada, New Zealand, Argentina and The Philippines.
The system allows cities around the world to install light rail routes faster and more affordably than traditional technologies, while being easily retrofitted into existing roads.
While the CVLR track and vehicle were developed together, they can be used independently, further increasing the international appeal and impact of the designs, leading Coventry City Council to secure international patents to protect the intellectual property of the designs.
CVLR set out to provide a solution for Coventry and has become a new blueprint for urban mobility across the world.
To see how WMG can help you to nurture your manufacturing business, get in touch today.