Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the Very Light Rail prototype under development by Coventry City Council and the University of Warwick.

Very Light Rail in Coventry is an emerging technology being researched and developed by Coventry City Council (CCC) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Local proposals to develop this technology include building a demonstrator route in Coventry City Centre.

WMCA has included the development of Very Light Rail within its £1.05 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme agreed with Government. Investment decisions on the Very Light Rail programme are subject to approval by the Department for Transport.

The Department’s officials have reviewed the Strategic Outline Business Case for the VLRRP, which is now being progressed through bespoke governance as a Research and Development project to reflect the novel nature of the Very Light Rail prototype.