New train monitoring and control equipment to be used at Coventry VLR test track

One of the companies that demonstrated its new technology at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence has secured its first contract.

Universal Signalling’s Universal Worksite Protection, Vehicle Localisation and Speed Supervision systems will be used in the delivery of a 220-metre-long demonstration line for the Coventry Very Light Rail concept later this year.

The system involves fitting beacons to the track and monitoring equipment to trains, enabling the position and speed of all vehicles within a length of track to be monitored and controlled remotely.

The company says this provides a more accurate view of a site than whiteboards and magnets.

Universal Signalling Chief Executive Sam Bemment said that while similar systems exist, this system will allow for the Coventry demonstration track to be up
and running “in an hour”, with the company able to control the vehicle’s speed as it shuttles up and down and approaches the end of the short line.

Plans for the system to be used on plant vehicles during the construction phase are also being explored.

Universal Signalling’s Product Director Mark Beeson said the Coventry project was an exciting opportunity for us to showcase our capabilities in a live operational environment”, and that the technology would allow for a fully featured light rail system “delivered at a much- reduced cost base and short timescale”.

The test track will be showcased over a four-week period this summer.

Bemment said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the attention received at GCRE’s Innovation Demonstration Day, with a number of groups from Network Rail’s supply chain interested in the technology.