Eversholt Rail, along with Transport Design International, has announced the launch of the Revolution Very Light Rail Demonstrator vehicle.
The RVLR programme was started after a challenge was set by the Department for Transport and the Rail Safety and Standards Board to develop a low-cost solution to encourage a shift to rail, supporting branch lines and helping to reopen disused railway lines.
Harworth Developments has worked with Eversholt Rail to develop the new demonstration site at Ironbridge to allow stakeholders to visit and see the journey the new train has taken.
The demonstrator train is fitted with a hybrid diesel-electric power pack to provide zero-emissions at speeds of up to 20mph. In a railway first, the diesel engine is a 2.8 litre Cummins engine with Euro 6 emissions standards.
A key feature of the RVLR train is modularity which will allow easy maintenance without costly facilities, tools and test equipment.
Darren Smith, Head of Transport Design International, said: “The modular design of Revolution VLR facilitates the rapid and cost-effective development of different internal layouts to suit customers’ specific needs, together with variants tailored to specific roles, such as a freight version with dedicated loading and offloading doors.”
Paul Sutherland, Client Services Director at Eversholt Rail, said: “Eversholt Rail has a proud record of investment in innovative rolling stock programmes, and we are delighted to have played an active role in the RVLR programme since 2018. We believe that RVLR’s characteristics and cost-effectiveness will really assist the business cases for rail line reopenings and extensions across the UK.”
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Rail Minister: “VLR is new technology that offers a glimpse into the railways of the future. This low cost, low emission transport might be the sort of thing you see in your town in years to come.
“Our funding is supporting innovation and new technology, helping create the transport network of tomorrow.”
Tim Hurdiss, Associate Director – Major Projects, Harworth Group: ‘We’re delighted to be working with TDI and Eversholt Rail to bring Revolution VLR to our Ironbridge site, where we are transforming the former Ironbridge Power Station into a mixed-use development of up to 1,000 homes, alongside a range of commercial, leisure and community uses. Together we are exploring the possibilities of how the former sidings and freight line could be brought back into use, opening up the prospect of passengers one day being able to arrive at Ironbridge by rail.’
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Responses
Just as important as cheaper trains is cheaper stations
Reston in Scotland is £20M. When did we last get a new station for under £1m?
I think these light rail vehicles could be ideal to operate on the branch lines in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Bristol, South Wales, Mid Wales, West Wales, The Cotswolds (including Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire). Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and West London (West Ealing-Greenford branch line). And could even replace the Class 139 used on the Stourbridge branch line (Stourbridge Junction-Town).
And they could also be useful to operate on the Uckfield Line, Marshlink Line, Windsor & Eton Central branch line, Maidenhead-Marlow (and Bourne End), Twyford-Henley-on-Thames, North Downs Line and many more branch lines in England which these VLR vehicles or rolling stock could possibly operate on. And to replace the existing DMU rolling stocks.
A good initiative that looks very smart (even if the seats don’t properly align with the windows). But the cost of reopening a line or operating an existing branch is not the train but construction and maintenance of the infrastructure – signalling, rails, trackbed, bridges, embankments, cuttings, stations etc. This is why railbuses failed to save branches in the 1960s – maintaining even ‘rationalised’ infrastructure gobbled up savings made by operating lightweight trains.
TOCs need to worker much harder selling train services. People expect a completely reliable 365 days-a-year service at a price they can afford. Good trains are only a small part of the overall equation, and rail operators are doing a very bad job of (a) understanding new demand flows and (b) selling their services to the non-rail-using public. TOCs need to get into the housing estates, executive developments, schools & businesses along their routes and actually TALK to people who don’t currently use rail.
21st century pacer?
Or replacement for parry people mover?