One new snippet of information from the video below: the 220 metres test track was installed in only 2 months! So, a kilometre could be installed in 10 months if you are using just a single installation team, perhaps faster, as they learn how to do it.
Light rail systems always take ages to build. The reason for that is because you have to build a reinforced concrete bed for the track, and move all the utilities under the road to build that bed. With the VLR, the concrete bed isn't needed. In fact, the track is prefabricated, and you need to just remove the top 30 cm (1 ft) of the road surface to install the track. Because installation is so fast, a municipality could commit to building 1 or 2 miles a year, finish the track required, and have a network soon after construction begins. Each year thereafter, the network could expand. With heavier light rail, because of the construction difficulties, a whole line has to be built and completed before it can be opened.
[See my first piece on the VLR, here]
From Geoff Marshall's YouTube channel.
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