types of small rail transport. The Great Western Railway used both autotrains and one of the early railcars on this route, and in December 2005 the route began being used to test the Parry People Mover, a highly energy-efficient railcar, to provide the Sunday service. The experiment has been sufficiently successful to the extent that the Sunday service in June 2006 was included in both the Network Rail printed timetables and Internet site, and now runs on a permanent basis. The line has been operated by two Class 139 Parry People Movers since June 2009. It was previously operated by a single Class 153 car, and prior to that a Class 121, locally known as Daisy the DMU. Although the line has been threatened with closure several times in the past, People Mover have suggested that should their railcar prove a success, their service could be further extended into Stourbridge town centre as a light rail system. Press reports in August 2010 marked the milestone of half a million passengers having been passed, and indicate substantial growth rates and reliability levels comparable to the Docklands Light Railway; a new depot could consolidate this early success. The train operates six times per hour over the line, with a journey time of three minutes. Passenger volume These are the passenger figures on the line from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2019. Comparing the two years, Stourbridge Town increased by 138% and Stourbridge Junction by 378%. Accidents The branch has become notorious for the steep downhill gradient leading from Junction station, and over the years there have been several incidents: 15 June 1897 – a train of empty cattle trucks and horse boxes was being reversed down the incline when the locomotive's vacuum brake failed. The locomotive and wagons ploughed into a line of stationary wagons, the office of a local coal merchant, and stables. One man was injured. 24 April 1905 – the driver lost control of a locomotive descending the branch, head-first, at the head of 32 wagons. The train demolished the stop block and smashed into and through the goods office at the end of the branch. Luckily the crew managed to jump clear before impact. 10 February 1948 – a heavily laden freight train slipped away despite brakes being applied, with the result that wagons telescoped into each other. 2 April 1977 – BR