Funding sought for new ultra light rail service in the West Midlands
(Above: Libary image of a proposed ultra light rail vehicle design, courtesy Revolution VLR Consortium, which is involved in the Dudley-Sandwell project)
The Revolution Very Light Rail (VLR) Consortium won ‘Radical Train’ funding last year for its bid to develop ultra light rail vehicles – and it is already planning potential passenger services.
The Consortium is made up of TDI (Europe) Ltd (Transport Design International), Unipart Rail Ltd, Warwick Manufacturing Group centre HVM Catapult, Trelleborg PPL Ltd, Allectra Ltd and GKN Land Systems, and is developing a low-carbon, very-lightweight passenger railcar via a demonstrator.
It says: “Revolution VLR's hybrid propulsion technology will be combined with a self-powered bogie and modular, composite bodyshell design. The project intends to utilise off-the-shelf componentry to reduce manufacturing cost and improve reliability and maintainability.”
Radical Train is the competition run by FutureRailway (previously the Enabling Innovation Team) to encourage novel approaches to re-thinking the basics of rolling stock and to bring about a “step change in performance” on UK railways.
Revolution VLR’s plan is to pilot and develop its vehicle as an ultra light rail service between Dudley and Sandwell, which has enthusiastic support from the local councils and Centro, the West Midlands transport authority. The ambition is to have it running within five years, alongside a new National Centre for Development of Very Light Rail Technology.
The new service could transport passengers from Dudley Port station in Tipton to the site of Dudley’s former station at the bottom of Castle Hill.
'Unique drivetrain'
RTM talked to Martin Pemberton, CEO and president of TDI. He said: “We started in June, so we’re six months into the development programme. Most of the work has centred around developing the drivetrain – it’s a series hybrid drivetrain built into the bogies, so it’s quite unique – and also a lightweight bodyshell, which we’re currently scheming out. The traction method will be clean diesel, driving electrically-driven bogies.
“It’s early days, but we’re making good progress and we’re on schedule. The intention is to deliver a demonstrator vehicle within two years of the June 2014 start date.”
Ambitions are not limited to Dudley. Pemberton said: “We’ve been talking to a number of people about other places it might operate: it’s got great potential, especially operating on smaller lines and branch lines, where heavier, more expensive trains would not be cost-effective.
“We really do hope the Dudley opportunity will be the first demonstration of the technology. That’s what we’re working toward, and if we can get a successful operation running there, then that obviously opens up opportunities in lots of other places.”
Asked whether it could be in passenger operation within five years, he said: “It’s eminently possible. The technology we can do, we can manufacture things quickly, we do that a lot – it’s really having the political will to make it happen. We need the funding and for politicians to green-light it.
“There are other potential applications, particularly with [replacing] the ageing Pacer fleet.”
Standards and derogations
A traditional problem with radical new vehicles for the national network has been the standards, particularly on crashworthiness. The Consortium says it wants to “evaluate the application of existing, essentially ‘heavy rail’, safety standards to VLR railcars and produce a discussion paper”.
Pemberton told us: “The easy win is the branch lines, because in terms of regulation, it’s easier when they’re operating on a segregated route. The minute you cross onto a main line, you’re into a different area of conformity. But we wouldn’t rule that out, and we’re working with the existing standards.
“In fact, we’re tasked with challenging some of them: the RSSB are a stakeholder in the project, that’s one of the things they’ve asked us to do. If we come to a point where, for example, the current crashworthiness requirements seem onerous for what we’re trying to achieve with a lightweight vehicle, then we’ve got to flag that up.”
A centre of excellence for light rail innovation
The Black Country strategic economic plan describes the region’s hope of becoming “the UK Centre of Excellence for Light Rail Innovation…which, utilising opportunities for a demonstrator track, will create opportunities for skills and employment, and develop the capacity in the UK to build rather than import light rail vehicles.”
The new vehicles being developed by Revolution VLR are a separate solution to the Stourbridge Shuttle, which has operated between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge town centre since 2009. Its operators want to find new routes for its Class 139 Parry People Movers. Phil Evans, director of PMOL (Pre Metro Operations Ltd), which operates the Stourbridge Shuttle under contract with London Midland, told RTM: “We progress and continue to talk to those interested in using our innovative technology combined with an efficient method of work.
“We are heavily involved in the quoted Dudley proposal and we are in firm discussions with the local authority to be the operator of the line. We are also looking at Malaysian and African applications. Other potential UK use may include Oswestry-Gobowen and Stocksbridge-Deepcar. It is however disappointing that there is little interest yet in including similar proposals in future re-franchising bids, although with the current railcars our reliability in now above 99.7% and therefore there are considerable benefits accruing to the existing London Midland franchise. Old traditions die hard elsewhere.”
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
[email protected]
http://www.railtechnologymagazine.c...light-rail-service-in-the-west-midlands/91312
