The delivery of the Tyne and Wear Metro’s first new train has been hailed as a “moment of history” for the North East.
Thrilled transport chiefs watched on as the Class 555 Metro finally entered its new home at the Gosforth depot in the early hours of Tuesday morning, having made its way across Europe. Manufacturing giant Stadler is building 46 new trains for the Metro in a £362m programme to replace the outdated and increasingly unreliable carriages that have served the network since it opened 43 years ago.
While it will still be some months before any new trains are put into passenger service, seeing one arriving on Tyneside nonetheless marks a significant milestone for bosses who have promised a dramatic improvement from the modern fleet. The new trains should be far more reliable and energy efficient, as well as boasting modern features such as air conditioning, charging points, and an automatic sliding step at every door.
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Martin Kearney, managing director of Metro operator Nexus, said: “To see that train arriving at our Gosforth depot was a moment of history for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Everyone is excited to get the testing and driver training process underway, so that we can put the new train into service on the network.
“The Stadler trains have all the latest modern technology. They’re a world away from our current fleet, and they promise to be transformative for customers and for our workforce.
“Our customers, employees, specialist user groups and trade unions helped to design the new trains as part of a far-reaching consultation exercise that received 23,000 responses. We are getting a bespoke design from Stadler, with a sleek modern appearance inside and out.”
All of the new trains are due to arrive by 2025, with the first entering service this autumn after a period of local testing and driver training. It is hoped that passengers will notice a spectacular change in their journeys, having spent years putting up with delays as a result of the existing Metro stock’s deterioration.
Another significant change that commuters will immediately notice is that the new trains will have London Tube-style linear seating, rather than the current bay seating layout. They were also meant to have Wi-Fi, but that plan has been scrapped after being deemed too expensive – with Nexus instead choosing to invest in improved 4G and 5G signal around its tracks.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said: “I’m delighted to see the first train of our new modern Metro fleet arrive in the region – this is a monumental achievement and great news for public transport in the North East. The arrival of the first new train will be welcome news for passengers, many of whom played a key role in the consultation process, helping to design the very trains that will take the Metro forward into the future.”
The first arrival in the new fleet was towed across mainland Europe by a locomotive and arrived into the UK via the Channel Tunnel last week. It then gradually made its way north, via stops in Wembley and Doncaster, and arrived in the North East for the first time on Saturday.
For the final leg of its journey, it was taken from the Tyne Yard in Gateshead onto the Metro tracks at Pelaw before being pulled to the Gosforth depot by a current Metro train.
Adrian Wetter, project manager at Stadler, added: “The arrival of the first train in Newcastle is a massive milestone, bringing the project to manufacture and supply 46 new trains one step closer to fruition. These trains are technologically sophisticated, designed for passenger comfort and will dramatically improve the travel experience.
“We are pleased to continue working with Nexus on the next stage, which is a comprehensive programme of testing to ensure that the trains meet industry safety standards before they are entered into commercial service.”
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