---
title: "COV - CVLR Vehicle Dynamics Support"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078726"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078726"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078726.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078726.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Coventry City Council"
published: "2026-10-14"
---

# COV - CVLR Vehicle Dynamics Support

Buyer: Coventry City Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078726

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## Summary

Coventry City Council commissioned specialist vehicle-dynamics research and engineering support for the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) vehicle. The work covers four areas: assessing vehicle performance and safety on the extended on-road trial route through the city-centre demonstrator at Mile Lane and Park Road; characterising suspension forces to inform carbody fatigue load cases; evaluating how suspension modifications affect the Generation 2 vehicle; and providing vehicle-dynamics support on a call-off basis for that generation. This is a focused rail-vehicle engineering and research requirement, rather than a general transport or infrastructure contract. The services relate to CVLR trials and vehicle development in Coventry.

The procurement is complete and Coventry City Council selected the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research for the single lot. The award was made on 14 October 2026, through a below-threshold direct award without competition. The awarded price is £89,425 excluding VAT (£107,310 including VAT). The contract period runs from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2028; a signature was scheduled for 26 October 2026. The work was commissioned as four packages covering safety and performance assessment on an extended trial route, suspension-force characterisation, assessment of suspension modifications on the Generation 2 vehicle, and call-off dynamics support. The published procurement data does not state separate scoring criteria for selecting the supplier.

For the Institute of Railway Research, this award demonstrates demand for specialist vehicle-dynamics expertise spanning both test-route assessment and engineering analysis. A credible competitor for a comparable requirement would need to assess the safety and performance of a light-rail vehicle in on-road trials, characterise suspension loads and translate them into fatigue design cases, and analyse the effects of suspension changes on vehicle behaviour. The scope also points to a need for researchers able to support development of a next-generation vehicle and respond to ongoing technical work on a call-off basis. Suppliers with relevant rail-vehicle research and experimental-development capability, and the capacity to combine field assessment with structural and dynamics analysis, are best aligned with this buyer’s requirement.

## Notice

Contract consists of four work packages: 1. Performance and safety assessment of the CVLR Vehicle running on the extended on-road trial route (City Centre Demonstrator Mile Lane/Park Road) 2. Characterising the range of suspension forces experienced by the vehicle to support development of carbody fatigue load cases 3. Evaluation of the effect of suspension modifications on the performance of the Generation 2 Vehicle 4. Generation 2 vehicle dynamics call-off support.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096840-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 30 Apr 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £89,425 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Coventry City Council |
| Locality | COVENTRY |
| Postcode area | Coventry |
| Postcode | CV1 5RR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG33 Coventry |
| Local authority | Coventry |
| Electoral ward | St Michael's |
| Westminster constituency | Coventry South |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | University of Huddersfield Institute of Railway Research |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services
- 73110000 - Research services
- 73300000 - Design and execution of research and development

## Release History

- 14 Oct 2026 at 10:28 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096840-2026
- 14 Oct 2026 at 10:24 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096836-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096840-2026
  14th October 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096836-2026
  14th October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.coventry.gov.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078726. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078726.json.