Press release
Friday 1 December 2006 – Fifth Joint Press Release from
LIGHTWEIGHT RAIL A KEY RESPONSE TO CHALLENGES OF EDDINGTON AND STERN REPORTS
Need for sustainability in urban and suburban areas puts energy efficient Parry People Movers innovation at heart of transport agenda
Existing lightweight operation saves 80% of CO2 emissions
The publication of the Eddington Transport Study, commissioned by HM Treasury and the Department for Transport, has focused attention on the transport challenges in urban and suburban areas. The document echoes the Stern Review, issued on 30th October, in emphasising the importance of environmental issues to future transport policy.
Sir Rod Eddington identifies that "transport demand in the UK is predominantly local and is concentrated within urban areas and their surrounding catchment areas." Emphasising the issue, his report points out that "89 per cent of delay is estimated to be on urban roads". He also identifies the prices of petroleum-based fuel and carbon dioxide emissions as key external influences on future transport policy.
Lightweight rail, exemplified by the products of Parry People Movers Ltd (PPML), stands to play a key role in the improvement of local transport in built-up areas, and its development will also assist links to inter-urban rail transport, another key priority identified in the Eddington Study.
By bringing the attractiveness of modern light rail and tramways, as demonstrated in cities such as Nottingham, to smaller urban centres, the lower investment and operating costs of lightweight rail permit high-quality public transport which will attract people from their cars, reducing congestion and pollution. Lightweight rail has high environmental performance and its use cuts both fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions.
Since December 2005, licensed train operator Pre Metro Operations Ltd has run Sunday services between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town using a railcar from PPML. During the 12-month experimental operation on the Stourbridge Town branch of the national rail network, 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.
Following the success of the Stourbridge operation, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority has called on the rail companies bidding to operate the service from November 2007 to include lightweight rail in their plans, while Network Rail has commissioned a complete study of the lessons learned and the potential for using lightweight rail to improve public transport across Great Britain.
"It is clear from both Stern and Eddington that transport, the economy and the environment should - and do - go hand-in-hand," said PPML's chairman John Parry. "Today's world needs transport solutions that assist economic development and people's quality of life at the same time as promoting sustainability of natural resources. Providing better services while using less fuel and emitting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is what it is all about. Lightweight rail has a significant role in this, as has been amply demonstrated by the results from operation at Stourbridge and the response from transport bodies such as Centro and Network Rail."
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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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