The Anonymous Widower

Will Dudley Get A National Very Light Rail Innovation Centre?

In London, there are several types of railway.

1. The main lines coming into London like the East Coast Main Line and the London Overground would typically be classified as heavy rail.

2. The London Underground is a metro, underground of rapid transit system. Take your pick on the name, but in London’s case it’s complicated by some Underground trains sharing tracks with heavy rail services.

3. The Docklands Light Railway is probably best described as what it says in the name; a light railway.

4. There is also the Tramlink, which in London is a tram that runs both on-street and on dedicated tracks.

Looking around the world, there are a multiplicity of types of railway and every country seems to have their own versions.

So I was interested to see this article on the BBC web site, which talked about a proposed Very Light Rail Innovation Centre and a new transport link in Dudley in the West Midlands.

So what is very light rail?

I suppose the only truly very light rail system in the UK, is the Parry People Mover in Strourbridge, which is a lightweight vehicle powered by an innovative electric drive train using a flywheel for energy storage.

It is my belief, that as you make vehicles lighter, they become more efficient and this improves the economics.  This applies to both road and rail vehicles.

As the Dudley project is backed by the well-respected Warwick Manufacturing Group, I suspect that quite a few influential organisations, will think the Innovation Centre could be a worthwhile project.

This is a project that needs to be watched.

But consider.

1. The Docklands Railway is successful and liked by passengers and operators. So why is it, that there is no similar driverless system using the same technology?

2. How many proposals for trams and light rail systems in the ?UK, have never come to fruition?

3. Every tram system I’ve ever ridden seems to be a one off design from the stations and track to the vehicles and the ticketing system.

We must be able to do better!

And surely a properly-funded Innovation Centre, backed with the right technical resources wiill help us create better urban transport systems in the UK and the wider world.

January 30, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Innovation, Trains, Trams