Coventry Very Light Rail
| Coventry Very Light Rail | |
|---|---|
The Coventry Very Light Rail Vehicle during a public test in May 2025 | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | Coventry City Council |
| Locale | Coventry, West Midlands |
| Transit type | Tram/Light rail |
| Line number | (1 under construction) |
| Chief executive | Nick Mallinson |
| Website | https://www.coventry.gov.uk/coventry-light-rail |
| Operation | |
| Number of vehicles | 1 |
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Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) is a light rail/tram system under construction in Coventry. The system has been promoted as being the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. When finished, it will also be the first tram network to operate in Coventry since the closure of the Coventry Corporation Tramways system in 1940.
Plans to establish such a system were first announced during 2016; development work was headed by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and Transport Design International (TDI). It was designed to be substantially cheaper to establish than conventional tramways and light railways, making use of batteries to avoid installing expensive overhead line equipment along much of the route, along with a new, thinner track system that is easier to lay and repair. The vehicle is standard UK gauge, so would be compatible with other networks.
During early 2018, WMG started formalising its procurement arrangements with various industrial partners to complete development and produce the vehicle. Construction of the first prototype vehicle has been completed. During 2019, it was announced that the first line of the system was planned to be operational by 2024. Further expansion of the network is intended after this point to cover various commercial, residential, and industrial districts of Coventry, as well as linking up with other transit hubs.
In 2025, Coventry City Council announced that construction had begun on a 220 metre test track between Greyfriars Road and Coventry Market on Queen Victoria Road. The council stated that the test line is planned to open in late May 2025, in order to allow the public to give feedback of the vehicles and operation of the VLR system before a first full line to the begins construction later in the year, the route of which is still undergoing development. Two options for the first route have been identified by the council and combined authority, one of which would head from the City Centre to the University Hospital via Fargo Village & Wyken, the second route would head to a new modern industrial park near the village of Baginton, via Whitley.