Losses widen for Parry People Movers

BLACK Country based light transit firm Parry People Movers, which operates passenger services on the Stourbridge Town branch line, has seen its interim losses widen to £89,266 in the six months to June 30. The figure compares to a loss of £43,404 in the same period last year.

The PLUS-quoted company which supplies lightweight tramway systems for smaller towns and lightweight rail vehicles for use on regional railways reported a near halving in turnover to £55,951.

The Cradley Heath firm is a leader in low-carbon transport. The railcars using the Stourbridge Town branch line, which is part of the London Midland franchise and operated by Pre Metro Operations Ltd, have completed nearly 400,000 passenger journeys since being introduced last year.

The new railcars, which have a 99% efficiency rating, weigh just a quarter of a conventional train , while its hybrid energy store and small engine – again by comparison to a regular train – have increased service frequency, cut running costs by half and reduced emissions by two-thirds.

The firm believes that the railcars fit well with the government’s ongoing programme of making the transport system greener and more sustainable, however, development has been hampered by cuts to research grants.

“The logic behind branch line revival is emphasised by figures recently released by the Association of Train Operating Companies showing that on some branch lines passenger numbers have risen by up to 55% in 12 months alone,” said the firm.

“A key factor in making branch lines more attractive to passengers is making the service better. As demonstrated at Stourbridge, Parry People Movers technology can achieve improvements leading to passenger growth highly cost-effectively (and at the same time can release main line trains from the branches so that capacity on the main lines can be increased.”

The company was formed in 1991 to develop transport technology originated by its founding shareholder JPM Parry & Associates Ltd, a West Midlands engineering firm.