The history and future of Rail combined in a good cause

The excitement of rail past and future will be there for visitors to taste and enjoy at a Family Rail Day in aid of five rail-related charities next month. 

The BCIMO at the Very Light Rail Centre in Dudley will host the event on Saturday 17th May together with a range of indoor and outdoor activities including a tram simulator, fairground rides, exclusive train experiences, live entertainment, and a variety of food and drink option stalls. Whether you are passionate about rail innovation, regional growth, or just looking for a great day out, this is the event for you. 

Highlights include an official opening from music legend and Rail Benefit Fund president Pete Waterman who, as well as producing many pop hits from the 1980s and 1990s including Kylie Minogue’s ‘Locomotion’, is also an avid rail enthusiast. 

This year the UK is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the modern railway in Britain, with the national Railway 200 ‘Rail200’ celebration. From skills and innovation to heritage and tourism, the Family Rail Day will mark this milestone. 

A key part of the visitor experience will be the opportunity to ride the prototype Coventry VLR ‘very light rail’ train, which is being developed at the Very Light Rail Centre, before it moves later this year to the streets of Coventry City Centre. Very light Rail is a UK rail technology that features a lighter, more affordable track infrastructure, which in turn allows for a light and lower cost rail carriage, making tracked mass transit systems affordable for smaller cities like Coventry – traditional trams are heavier and therefore only affordable in larger cities like Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Nottingham. 

The very light rail industry has strong links to Warwickshire supply chains, with the CVLR and sister Revolution very light rail trains designed and developed by TDI International of Stratford, which has been innovating in mass transit systems since the late 1970s. WMG at the University of Warwick has also been a partner of VLR, and the now defunct Coventry & Warwickshire LEP part-funded the development of the Very Light Rail Centre. 

For more information about the event and the charities that will be supported on the day, please visit https://bcimo.co.uk/events/bcimo-family-day/