Pre-Covid Metro documentary returns to national telly

ITV documentary looking at everyday life on the Tyne and Wear Metro has returned to screens again.

Metro: A Rail Life Story is a four-part documentary series giving a unique insight into day to day operations on the Metro system as it gears up to celebrate its 40th anniversary – prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The programme, filmed in 2019 and first shown in early 2020, is being rerun on ITV1. Episode one aired yesterday at 11.40pm.

Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, gave unprecedented access to film crews over the busy summer of 2019.

Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: “We’re delighted that the ITV documentary about Metro is to be screened again on national television.

“It was a huge honour for us to be part of this programme in

Metro’ s 40 th anniversary year. It affords viewers the chance to see some of the challenges that we face to keep the Metro service operating for its passengers.

“The filming took place before Covid-19 had ever happened, so it’ s a snapshot of what our lives were like before lockAn down and social distancing.

“Metro remains part of everyday life and has become a regional icon over the last four decades.

"It is a service that belongs to the people, which is why we were keen to share these amazing stories about our passengers and our staff.

“I hope everyone enjoys watching the series just as much as they did the first time it was aired.”

The series showed Metro staff dealing with day-to-day issues including fare evasion, customer services, infrastructure maintenance and managing its ageing fleet of trains.