Super green machine set to hit the buffers

Nov 23 2006

IT'S the West Midlands most amazing public transport innovation in years - and in a few weeks' time it faces the axe.

Every Sunday for the last 12 months, a lightweight tram called the Parry People Mover has been carrying passengers on the last leg of the journey from Birmingham to the centre of Stourbridge.

The route has traditionally been served at off-peak times by a bus, but the PPM has provided a reliable and efficient alternative.

So why is this small wonder about to be cut?

Transport bosses at Centro say they were only funding a 12 month trial and although impressed by what they've seen, there's no more money in the pot.

The good news is that they are actively seeking other ways of using this clean, green, travelling machine elsewhere in the Birmingham area.

Let's hope they get a move on because the PPM, designed and built in Cradley Heath, represents a real technological breakthrough.

It's powered by an ecofriendly flywheel engine so produces very few polluting emissions, and because it doesn't need overhead power lines, it's much cheaper to install than conventional trams.

The carriages are lightweight too so maintenance costs are slashed. And there's less disturbance to residents living along the route.

Just imagine how the PPM might be used to extend the cross-city line from Longbridge to Frankley or open up the track for passengers through Kings Heath and Moseley.

It could even provide a cut-price solution to the much-delayed Midland Metro extension to Five Ways and Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

For now though, apart from a small section of track near Cannock at Chasewater, this great example of local ingenuity is being shunted back into the sidings.