Row sparked by Tube-style Metro seats

SIDEWAYS SEATING OPPOSED BY CITY COUNCIL

Reporter A ROW among the region’s transport bosses has broken out over the most unlikely subject: the way seats will face on the new Metros.

The Treasury have committed £337m to replace the outdated and increasingly dysfunctional trains but how the replacements will look is yet to be agreed.

Council bosses are under pressure to decide on specifications soon so that the process of tendering for manufacturers can begin in line with a target of having new trains on the tracks by 2021.

Changing the way seats on the Metro are arranged has long been the preference of Nexus as it would prevent problems such as people putting their feet up on seats, lack of space for large items of luggage and overcrowding around the doors of the trains.

Nexus say they have consulted with passengers and transport experts on three separate occasions and have found a clear consensus for Tubestyle linear seating on the new trains. According to them, benefits would include more comfortable standing room for passengers during peak times, increased personal security and better accessibility for elderly and disabled customers. But Sunderland City Council are opposed to plans to introduce Tube-style seating for the new trains, saying it would disadvantage passengers travelling longer distances and calling into question Nexus’s research. The plans are due to be voted on at a meeting of the North East Combined Authority’s transport committee today, but Sunderland council are hoping to throw a spanner in the works. Coun Mordey, who represents the Wearside authority on Michael Mordey the committee, will propose a “hybrid” seating layout, arguing linear seating is suitable for “mass transit” systems such as the Tube but not for Metro journeys between Sunderland and Newcastle or the airport.

He said: “Part of the journey experience of rail travel is the ability to look out of the window. This is difficult if passengers have their back to the window.

“Psychologically, a carriage with very few seats and large standing areas suggests to the customer that the operator thinks only a cattle truck is good enough for them.

“Longitudinal seats do not offer a comfortable journey experience even to those passengers lucky enough to find a seat.

“In our opinion, there are no real cogent arguments presented in the report as to why a hybrid layout is not recommended.”

In a report to the NECA committee, Nexus boss Tobyn Hughes warned that, if councillors can’t make up their minds, the decision will simply be kicked in to the long grass or left up to the eventual manufacturer.