A NEWS RELEASE FROM PARRY PEOPLE MOVERS LTD
18th August 2005
NETWORK RAIL SPEEDS PPM APPROVAL
Rail Industry Specialists Engaged for Accelerated Vehicle Acceptance Task for Breakthrough at Stourbridge
In a rapidly unfolding situation, the operation of public passenger services using a PPM 50 light railcar on the Stourbridge Town branch line of the national rail network has suddenly become very much closer. The provisional plan discussed with the LNW Route director’s office is for the PPM 50 railcar to move to Stourbridge in late September.
Key to the progress made have been Network Rail, the national rail infrastructure owner, and CORREL Rail Ltd, a specialist rail firm accredited as a Vehicle Acceptance Body (VAB). Working with Network Rail’s safety engineers, CORREL Rail has devised solutions to the process of approval in close co-operation with the private sector promoters of the project: the licensed train operator Pre Metro Operations Ltd and vehicle designer and constructor Parry People Movers Ltd. The PPM concept of lightweight, fuel efficient, environmentally-friendly railcars is based on an evolution of light rail technology, as used in urban centres such as Manchester and Croydon, but adapted for non-electric heavy rail lines. However, acceptance of vehicles on to the Network Rail system (of which the Stourbridge Town branch is a part) has traditionally depended on meeting all of the strict requirements of Railway Group Standards.
Network Rail has proposed means for ensuring safe operation through appropriate measures – assessing the risks presented and the proposed safety systems in full accordance with the industry’s safety responsibilities but without the application of requirements intended for controlling main line operations. This is to be achieved by a derogation from Group Standards recognising that the Stourbridge Town branch can be run separately from the rest of the network and most sources of incompatibility with existing equipment are therefore not present. Network Rail is currently guiding the deviation application through the industry’s Subject Committees, with every sign of their positive and helpful engagement as a response to the strong lead being taken by Network Rail’s safety engineers.
CORREL Rail is providing the necessary VAB scrutiny, including a safety examination of the PPM 50 railcar in order to issue a Certificate of Engineering Acceptance in the context of the specific circumstances at Stourbridge. Along with other evidence from PPM and Pre Metro Operations, the Network Rail Acceptance Board will then assess the proposed operation, taking full account of its particular nature.
The procedures in the run-up to public operation are now following standard rail industry processes including the fixed timetables of the committees involved. A successfully trial will support a case for expansion of the PPM lightweight rail vehicle concept to many other situations, including line re-openings such as the proposed extensions of the Wensleydale Railway.
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