Thursday 30 November 2006 – Fourth Joint Press Release from

JPM PARRY & ASSOCIATES Ltd www.parryassociates.com	PARRY PEOPLE MOVERS Ltd www.parrypeoplemovers.com

CLEAN, GREEN & QUIET - LIGHTWEIGHT RAILCAR OPERATION SCORES SUCCESS AND ACCLAIM IN PASSENGER SERVICE

Passenger Transport Authority urges franchise bidders to adopt Parry People Movers solution for local line in West Midlands

Lightweight operation saves 80% of CO₂ emissions

Public services using British lightweight, environmentally-friendly technology have successfully demonstrated that local passenger rail services can be operated more affordably and with less environmental impact.  As a result, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority and Centro (the passenger transport executive), who have provided funding for the venture, want this approach to be used for all services on the branch line on which it has been tested with such success.

Since December 2005, new licensed train operator Pre Metro Operations Ltd has run Sunday services between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town, using a 50-passenger lightweight railcar from Parry People Movers as a year-long experimental service.  Project management and technical support have come from West Midlands engineering company JPM Parry & Associates Ltd.

During its 12-month experimental operation the 12-tonne PPM 50 vehicle will have run more than 4,000 public services.  Punctuality and reliability have been maintained at around 99%.  On other days of the week, a 40-tonne diesel railcar is used and calculations by Parry Associates have shown that using the PPM 50 saves 80% of the diesel train's fuel consumption and emissions of carbon dioxide - the principal greenhouse gas - while providing the same level of service to passengers.

"The trial we have helped fund has shown how this new, locally-developed technology is able to provide a frequent, safe and reliable passenger service," said Centro-WMPTA's lead member for rail, Cllr Keith Chambers.  "When the new rail franchise takes over from Central Trains, we think there is real scope for the heavy rail to be replaced by a more frequent seven-day shuttle service using lightweight railcars.  We are urging the companies now bidding for the West Midlands franchise to make this a part of their plans."

Other transport organisations have also provided tangible backing to the Parry lightweight rail system, with Network Rail commissioning a complete study of the lessons learned and the potential for using lightweight rail to improve public transport across Great Britain.  The technology could be used to provide passenger services on lines that have been closed for many years, reducing the environmental effects of cars by providing an attractive public transport alternative.

"It's a way of providing public transport that people will want to use," said Caspar Lucas, Parry Associates' Technical Services Director.  "It's quiet and clean, like modern trams and light rail, but it doesn't need electric poles, wires and equipment and so it won't cost hundreds of millions of pounds to install - the main reason why modern trams are being labelled unaffordable by the Government.  In this way, smaller cities and medium-sized towns, as well as rural branch lines and suburban routes, can benefit from attractive transport systems that people will prefer to their cars."

Pre Metro Operations Ltd is continuing to provide Sunday services as normal on 3rd, 10th and 17th December, with four departures per hour in each direction between the 09.36 departure from Stourbridge Junction (where the service connects with main line trains) and the 19.55 departure from Stourbridge Town.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS:

Parry People Movers Ltd information

COMPANY: Parry People Movers Ltd (PPM) was founded in 1992 to develop rail transport based on a new innovation: the "Kinergetic" flywheel energy store, which allows vehicles to run extremely efficiently and to recapture their braking energy for reuse when accelerating. The company is owned by approximately 200 shareholders and is quoted on the OFEX market.

ADVANTAGES: PPM rail vehicles offer the quality of modern light rail transport without the need for electrical power supply, giving excellent environmental performance and energy efficiency at lower cost than conventional technology. The same technology can be used on railways or urban tramways. PPM vehicles are fully compliant with accessibility regulations.

ACHIEVEMENTS: Twelve PPM vehicles have been built, ranging in capacity from 2 to 50 passengers. Between them they have carried over 100,000 passengers. Previous PPM vehicles have operated in Bristol, Brighton, Barking, Swansea, Birmingham, Oswestry and elsewhere. PPM 50 Light Railcar No. 999 900 has run on the Chasewater Railway, the Great Central Railway, the Severn Valley Railway and the Wensleydale Railway since it was built in 2001. Since December 2005, the railcar has been in passenger service between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town stations on Sundays, run by licensed train operator Pre Metro Operations Ltd.

TECHNOLOGY: The "Kinergetic" technology used in PPM vehicles is licensed to the company by JPM Parry & Associates Ltd, a West Midlands engineering company specialising in overseas development, integrated transport, and energy/environmental issues.

PHOTOGRAPHS: A wide range of pictures of PPM vehicles can be obtained from Parry People Movers Ltd (contact details below).

FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact -
John Parry MBE, Chairman, Parry People Movers Ltd
Overend Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 7DD
Telephone: +44 (0)1384 569553
Fax: +44 (0)1384 637753
Email: info@parrypeoplemovers.com
Website: www.parrypeoplemovers.com

JPM Parry & Associates Ltd information

BACKGROUND: JPM Parry & Associates Ltd was founded in 1974 by John Parry, one of the early team of directors of the Intermediate Technology Development Group and chair of its Building Materials Panel, to offer technical services to the construction industry in Britain and overseas. Shortly afterwards, the company started to develop a range of intermediate technology machinery that could be used to produce quality building materials in developing countries using local resources. These are now in service in over 80 countries.

TRANSPORT INNOVATION: Applied to transport, the Parry approach to technological development produced the flywheel energy storage system licensed to Parry People Movers Ltd.

EXPERTISE: The experience gained from project management of the PPM venture, including the approvals for public operation at Stourbridge, has given JPM Parry & Associates Ltd a unique background in the introduction of transport innovation. This knowledge can now be transferred to numerous other applications where a new approach to would permit high-quality, attractive public transport to be implemented.

FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact -
Caspar Lucas, Technical Services Director, JPM Parry & Associates Ltd
Overend Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 7DD
Telephone: +44 (0)1384 569171
Fax: +44 (0)1384 637753

Email: info@parryassociates.com
Website: www.parryassociates.com/transport

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