Article: Cheap and simple tram may meet Third World needs. (flywheel-powered train developed by JPM Parry Associates)

A SMALL engineering firm in the West Midlands is trying to raise money to develop a novel flywheel-powered tram.

The tram, known as the Parry People Mover, is the brainchild of JPM Parry Associates, a company employing fewer than 20 people, which specialises in manufacturing low-cost brick and tile-making machines for the Third World.

The tram is designed to provide Third World countries with a cheap transport system which can easily be maintained by engineers who lack the skills and resources of their Western counterparts.

The trams, which will eventually carry 20 passengers, will cost about 25 000 [pounds] each -- about the same as a minibus.

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