Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a Briefing Note and Presentation of the Director of Transportation and Highways that provided an update on the progress of very light rail (VLR).

Since the last briefing to the Board in December 2019, significant progress on VLR had been made with vehicle assembly underway at NP Aerospace.The vehicle would now be ready for Factory Acceptance Tests to commence in December 2020 and would move to Dudley in February 2021 to undertake 8 weeks of Site Acceptance Testing - the Dudley Innovation Centre Test Track facility and a workshop was currently under construction. The innovations and design within the vehicle were subject to Patent Applications which were currently underway.  A key aspiration for the project was to ensure the product developed the manufacturing capability within the region, this would be key to the manufacturing strategy for both the vehicle and track form.

The Board noted that TDI had sourced 67% of the supply chain for the prototype vehicle from the UK.

Significant progress has been made on the track workstream. Since May 2020, significant work has been undertaken to reach an agreed concept to take forward to detailed design. The concept to be progressed was approved at the end of September 2020 and was now in the detailed design phase, expected to be complete by May 2021. Once the design had been approved, component testing would be initiated.

The track concept was subject to a Patent Application and this was underway.

In order to build a Test Track of the new trackform to initiate integrated system testing, further funding was required for which a bid to the DfT was being developed to put forward a case for £8.8m investment to achieve Proof of Concept and progress the route workstream.

Coventry City Council continued to progress the route workstream to develop the first route to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire. Utilities and drainage surveys were underway to assess route alignment options and the team were about to commission a package of work to progress the outline design concept. In addition, further feasibility work to explore a potential extension to Ansty Park, had been commissioned as a Park and Ride facility which could increase the Benefit to Cost Ratio of the proposed first route. Funding to continue progress on the workstream was also required and would  form part of the DfT bid due to be submitted in late January 2021. To support the submission to DfT, an outline Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) detailing the benefits that VLR would deliver, through enabling R&D, mobilising a new manufacturing sector in the region and providing an attractive affordable rail based system for small cities, had been commissioned.

In parallel to the above, the Authority were progressing work to develop and confirm city-wide transport objectives and future transport needs, taking into consideration last mile solutions (such as cycle super-highways and e-scooters) and how this would integrate with VLR. A VLR network plan would be developed over the coming months.

The Board questioned officers, received responses, and discussed the following issues:

·  To secure the track concept, non-disclosure agreements had been put in place and the circulation of information limited, whilst the patent for the track concept was in the application stage.

·  The bid for £8.8m investment to achieve Proof of Concept and progress the route workstream, was being submitted in January 2021 - the timescale for the outcome of the bid was unknown at present.

·  Sufficient funding was in place for the track concept and building of the track which had been developed by officers with expertise in the field. A Utilities Co-ordinator had also now been employed.

·  Plans were in place to ensure the continuation of the project should any delay occur in the receipt of Dft funding.

·  There was much interest from industry in the proposals which it was anticipated would generate further funding to support the project. 

·  A test track from Coventry Rail Station to Bull Yard was proposed but was progressing through a process for placing track on the public highway. This installation would demonstrate how the scheme would fit with the street scene.

·  As part of the City of Culture, a Transport Innovation Exhibition would be held which is was hoped would include a Very Light Rail cab mould.

·  Important to make the proposals visual to the public and businesses as there was much interest in the project.

·  Optimal alignment for the first route from the City Centre to the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire was currently being worked up. The second route would be to Ansty Park.

·  Dudley had already moved to form the Innovation Centre and Coventry joined them to enable a test track to be created. The joint relationship provided opportunities for joint funding, the use of expertise in the automotive sector, a centre for the building of the vehicle, and cost savings to the authority for progressing the project. 

·  The scheme would not only provide an innovative transport system but also an economic scheme that would create employment opportunities.

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) notes the presentation and briefing note and made no further recommendations to Cabinet Members to be considered as part of the Local Air Quality Action Plan Full Business Case Report in December 2020.