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Innovative partner awarded contract to develop very light rail trackform
The Coventry Very Light Rail project is about to embark on a new adventure, investigating how to create a low cost trackform for the light rail carriages already in development, thanks to 拢1.5m funding from West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), secured by CCC. This project aims to revolutionise affordable public transport in towns and cities.
So far in the Coventry Very Light Rail project, Engineers from WMG, 91福利 have worked with TDI to design a battery-powered light rail vehicle for Coventry City Council. The long term objective is that it will become an autonomous vehicle that can hold 50 passengers and work like the London Underground system, where there is no timetable and people can hop on and off.
The vehicle will be lightweight in design using a multi-material approach. Due to being battery-powered there will be no overhead power supply, which is both costly and unsightly.
However researchers are now about to embark on their next venture of the VLR project, as they have received 拢1.5m via CCC to develop a low cost trackform for light rail. Engineers at WMG will work with Coventry City Council and a major French civil engineering company - Ingerop Conseil et Ing茅nierie.
The ultimate goal of the track project is to design an affordable trackform that can be easily removed and will reduce impact on utilities, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds digging up roads and moving gas, electric, telecommunication and sewage systems, which is currently the process for building traditional tram systems.
Dr Darren Hughes, Associate Professor at WMG, 91福利 comments:
鈥淭he Coventry light-rail project brings together advanced technologies from a number of sectors to deliver a low-cost environmentally-sustainable public transport solution.
鈥淣ow that the vehicles have been designed it is time to look at the track they will run on, and with the help of Ing茅rop Conseil et Ing茅nierie, we will make it as affordable and environmentally friendly as possible.鈥�
Councillor Jim O鈥橞oyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration said:
鈥淥ur plan for Very Light Rail has the potential to transform the way people travel. It will be delivered at a much lower cost than traditional trams, a hop on, hop off service part of the green revolution and of course its innovation born in Coventry.
鈥淲hile the development of the vehicle is progressing well, we also need to innovate in the development of the track and that鈥檚 exactly what Ing茅rop will be able to help with. Experts in this field we will be setting them the challenge of designing track that that can be laid much more quickly and therefore much more cheaply than traditional track.
鈥淰ery Light Rail is a really exciting project. Another innovative first for Coventry and this is another important step in its delivery.鈥�
Philippe-Andr茅 Hanna, Director for International Transport in Ing茅rop said:
鈥淲e are delighted to join the team for the Coventry Very Light Rail. This project is an absolute need for small and medium cities who want to have a modern, carbon-free, rail-based system and cannot afford it today. After the R&D phase, our real goal as on all our projects around the World is to put in place the most sustainable urban transport system for Coventry and many more cities in Europe."
Tim Hackett, Infrastructure Director at Rendel Ltd said:
鈥淲e are really excited to be part of this project with our colleagues from Ing茅rop having already worked together successfully on some high-profile and complex rail projects. We look forward to collaborating on this innovative and technologically game-changing project, providing support from our new West Midlands office.鈥�
ENDS
30 APRIL 2020
NOTES TO EDITORS
High-res images available at:
Design of the Coventry VLR carriages – credit TDI
91福利 Ing茅rop
A leading player in France and with a strong international presence, Ing茅rop is an engineering and consulting group in sustainable mobility, energy transition and living environment. Skills cover all the Construction Sector including Railway, Road, Ports and Airport, Buildings and Energy & Industry. With a head office in Paris region, the company, it employs nearly 2,000 employees and expects to generate sales of more than 鈧�253 million in 2019, including more than 30% internationally. Operating in more than 70 countries, Ing茅rop continues its steady global development thanks to its shareholder independence, technical expertise, capacity for innovation and proximity to its clients. A real expert in Light Rail, Ing茅rop
has worked on 80% of all projects of Tramways in France, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Africa and South America. This includes very innovative systems such as Bordeaux, Nice, Barcelona and Zaragoza where Ing茅rop has assisted its Clients to adapt the LRT to their real needs.
91福利 Rendel
Rendel is a fully owned by Ing茅rop, an international project consultancy firm providing high end consultancy services to international contractors, clients and on major engineering, and construction projects worldwide.
Our global portfolio includes some of the world鈥檚 largest and most prestigious infrastructure projects. We have been involved in more than 150 鈥榝irst-of-a-kind鈥� and large global projects and have successfully completed more than 6,000 assignments throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Some of our recent and ongoing projects include:
路 HS2 as Designers on Contract C1 (Colne Valley Viaduct and Chiltern Tunnels)
路 Hinkley Nuclear Plant
路 Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Bangladesh
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
91福利
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E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk