We were recently invited by BCIMO to the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley, West Midlands, to see a couple of the projects that are taking place there.

The Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre isn’t normally open to the public, so to see behind the scenes is incredibly insightful.

Before the tour commenced, we were introduced to the centre by Olivia Brown, BCIMO Operations and Marketing Manager, and Phil Marsh, BCIMO Non Executive Director.

Phil explained that BCIMO has 2.2km of heavy rail that is rated to 200mph with curves and a tunnel to allow for the testing of new products.

The track is separate from the national rail network, which means that they don’t have to comply with the rules and regulations as with other testing areas, with an exemption from the rail regulator.

A number of projects are ongoing currently, allowing companies to simulate real-life operations without hindering normal train services.

Phil then handed over to Olivia, who explained that BCIMO is the only one of its kind in the UK, with work continuing outside on the West Midlands Metro.

Olivia says that we will see a number of projects during the visit, but handed over to the team from Coventry Very Light Rail to explain more about the work they are doing ahead of a trial this Summer.

The team at VLR has been working with BCIMO since day one to produce a vehicle that has capacity for 56 passengers, and has been at BCIMO since 2022 using the test track.

The curve at BCIMO uses slab track, and this is now being installed in Coventry ahead of a public test on a 220m test area.

RailAdventure has been announced as the operator of the tests, which will take place in Summer 2025.

The VLR team says that a full city centre test would be brilliant in the future, and the slab can be changed to allow for heavier tram vehicles, such as the West Midlands Metro, to help save costs and speed up renewals.

There is no funding to build a ‘Gen 2’ vehicle, so the team need to showcase infrastructure cost saving first.

The current vehicle is not designed to operate behind a bus or HGV yet due to its crash structure, so this needs to be changed if not in a controlled environment, such as at BCIMO or at the test area in Coventry.

The public will be aware that the vehicle is under test, and data will be collected that will be used for further development.

The test area, whilst not part of the main city centre area, is only a five-minute walk from the station, and the test area would form part of the future network.

We were then taken outside to start looking at some of the ongoing projects.

We started off with a 3D printed toilet area. This was built in just 3 hours and currently isn’t connected to water, etc, but has all the facilities inside for demonstration purposes.

Next to the toilet area was the VLR test vehicle, which was undergoing various runs for testing. The vehicle is battery-powered and can do 50km on a charge. The unit charges at 190kw, and the team says that they would love to have a go at making it an autonomous vehicle.

Moving down the centre, we were introduced to a new 1kw wind turbine that is positioned next to the tracks and can generate power from the wind that is generated by passing trains.

Parked in the siding near the turbine was an Ex-GWR HST carriage, and this is being used as a test bed for a new way to get rid of toilet waste.

GBR Rail are working to squash the toilet waste into bricks that can then be used to fertilise fields, etc, and the water that is left can then be filtered.

A new type of overhead gantry was next on our visit list, which is made of a composite material that can be recycled when its life expires, and saves on carbon emissions when being constructed.

The gantry costs around the same as steel but the installation costs are less than steel due to their weight.

Work is ongoing with Network Rail to get them verified for use on the mainline.

Grinsty was up next with their battery-powered air quality sensor. This is connected to the Wifi and can use AI to alert the user of changes in air quality onboard trains, buses and even schools.

Towards the end of our visit, we spoke to Moonbility, which wants to develop a camera to let passengers know if there is space on a tram.

There were some projects that we were able to see but are not able to share info and pictures due to their contract statuses, but it was excellent to see so many projects ongoing and such a variety of areas being tackled.

Your Chance To Visit BCIMO

Pete Waterman is to open a family day on the 17th May, which will include simulations, models and fairground rides.

All profits will go to charity, with the aim to raise £10,000. Tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for children and under 2s will be free. More info is available on the BCIMO website.

Some surprises about the open day are currently embargoed but it should make for a fantastic family day out!

A big thank you to BCIMO for inviting us down for a look, it was a pleasure to learn more about the centre.