Wednesday 25th July 2007 – Press Release from

	PARRY PEOPLE MOVERS Ltd www.parrypeoplemovers.com

GOVERNMENT RAIL STRATEGY ADOPTS 'PARRY' CARBON REDUCTION APPROACH

Plans for medium- and long-term emphasise need for high-efficiency, lightweight, hybrid technology

The Government White Paper and Technical Strategy for the railways, published on 24th July, reveal extensive official recognition of the approach to rail development taken by Parry People Movers Ltd (PPML), the West Midlands based suppliers of lightweight rail and tram vehicles.

Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Transport, announced both the 30-year Rail Technical Strategy and the Department for Transport's High Level Output Statement of its plans for 2009-14.  Just a month earlier, on 21st June, the Department's announced that Parry People Movers railcars will be used by the new London Midland franchise to run services on the Stourbridge Town branch line.

PPML's rail vehicle product is the first in service to feature lightweight construction, a hybrid power supply and patented energy storage system which enables the vehicle to recover kinetic energy when it brakes and re-use it to accelerate away from stops ("regenerative braking").  Experimental passenger operation in 2006 revealed an 80% cut in carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional diesel trains, a 45% reduction in operating costs, and considerable reductions in noise and pollutants.  The base technology, which uses propane gas as fuel, can be adapted to use other energy sources including biofuels and hydrogen if these are preferred.

The Government’s Rail Technical Strategy includes frequent references to these types of carbon reduction measures:

"Needs and Requirements... The most challenging scenario for the railway is to assume high economic growth (and therefore high growth in passenger as well as freight demand and more demanding customers) coupled with, first, a high level of environmental concern, tending to drive change towards minimum carbon emission (high energy efficiency) and, second, a need for high cost-effectiveness in terms of capacity per unit expenditure so that the nation can afford more railway services."

The Executive Summary points out that lightweight rolling stock running on suitable infrastructure will reduce energy demand and operating costs, and states that "the immediate opportunity in power and energy is the implementation of regenerative braking for vehicles which are already capable, and the industry’s positive response to this challenge over the past few months have been heartening... Biofuels are being pursued by several TOCs and present few technical challenges.  In the medium term, hybrid (energy storage) traction development is a more important area."

The strategy separately points out that the railway "will come under growing pressure through the Environmental Noise Directive to reduce its noise emissions and impact on local air quality."

In every respect the performance of the prototype PPM 50 railcar has, in the words of one DfT official, led to "very wide recognition" of the contribution that PPML has made towards formulation of environmental best practice as aspired to in the Government's new technical strategy.

In the Foreword to the White Paper, entitled "Delivering a Sustainable Railway" and concentrating on the period 2009-14, the Secretary of State writes of the Department's ambition for a network "that delivers its environmental potential".  The Executive Summary refers to the need to reduce the railway system's carbon footprint, and the potential for "low-carbon, self-powered trains".  It says that "the public as a whole wants a railway that contributes to economic growth and helps Britain meet the environmental challenges ahead" and that the Government requires "an environmentally and financially sustainable railway".  The White Paper points out that rail's role in reducing carbon emissions is two-fold: resulting both from improving its own performance and from attracting passengers away from more polluting transport modes.

John Parry, chairman of PPML, said: "Since the early 1990s we have advocated the need for public transport to be attractive, affordable, environmentally-friendly - and on rails.  Hybrid technology with regenerative braking always seemed the way ahead to us and it's a thorough vindication to see Government policy going the same way.  We pay tribute to our shareholders who stood behind the concept before this official recognition, and who will reap the benefits now that our vehicles are being specified by franchised train operators and the Department for Transport.

"It's also highly significant that the White Paper rules out closures of branch line railways, after years of perceived threats.  With passenger demand growing right across the country, it can't be long before the need for opening new railways is firmly on the agenda - and our technology can help there too."

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NOTES FOR EDITORS:

Parry People Movers Ltd information

SUCCESS: On 21st June 2007, the Department for Transport announced that Parry People Movers railcars will be used to operate all services on the Stourbridge Town branch line from 2008, under the new London Midland franchise awarded to Govia.

COMPANY: Parry People Movers Ltd (PPML) 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 PLUS market.

ADVANTAGES: PPML's 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. PPML's vehicles are fully compliant with accessibility regulations.

ACHIEVEMENTS: Twelve PPML vehicles have been built, ranging in capacity from 2 to 50 passengers. Between them they have carried over 100,000 passengers. Previous 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. From 11th December 2005 to 17th December 2006, this railcar operated 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 PPML's 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 PPML 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

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