Inside new Metro fleet depot
TEMPORARY DEPOT IS ‘SMALL BUT IMPORTANT’ MILESTONE
A new temporary depot built to welcome the Tyne and Wear Metro’s new £362m train fleet is now officially operational in North Tyneside.
The new Howdon depot has been built from scratch in just over a year and will be used for the cleaning and preparation of up to a quarter of the existing Metro fleet during a four-year transition to the new £70m depot at Gosforth.
This is to be completely rebuilt over the course of four years making the requirement for a satellite depot essential to ensure that Metro operations can continue.
The Howdon development has been funded as part of the Metro fleet replacement programme and will be used for maintenance of the current rolling stock and also to on-track the new Metro trains built by Stadler.
The Swiss train builder will begin to deliver the new Metro fleet to Howdon when the new trains are transported to the UK by rail from Switzerland via the Channel Tunnel – a process that is expected to start in 2022.
A total of 11 new lines, totalling 1.5km, have gone in at Howdon, along with 13 new track junctions and 1,000 sleepers.
Nexus have said it is another big step in the process of getting new Metro trains on track – which will transform the customer experience on the Tyne and Wear Metro when they start entering service.
Metro development director Neil Blagburn said: “We now have a dedicated facility to welcome the new Metro trains from 2022. Howdon is also a vital satellite depot for up to a quarter of the current fleet while we build the new main depot at Gosforth.
“It’s a small but important step towards getting the new Metro trains.
“When they roll off the production line in Switzerland, they will be transported here by rail and Howdon will be the point where they are delivered on to our network before testing and training gets under way.
“We are investing £70m on a totally new main depot at Gosforth. That reconstruction process starts in earnest next year, so we need Howdon to help us with that transitioning process.
“It’s a huge amount of investment in Metro and it gives it a really bright future which promises to be transformational for our customers and our workforce.”
Stadler Rail Service UK fleet manager Marc Robson said: “Stadler will be responsible for manufacturing and delivery of 42 new trains to the Howdon site which will then replace the existing fleet.
“The design stage is still ongoing, we expect to finish that by the end of May 2021 and start manufacturing the new trains then. They will then come here at the end of 2022 to be then rolled out following that.”
Acquiring money from the Transforming Cities Fund to deliver the Metro Flow project will also mean that this facility is likely to play an important role in future Metro operations.
Nexus secured Government grant funding of £337m towards the projected £362m cost of designing and building a new train fleet and depot.
This and the ongoing maintenance of the fleet over 35 years makes the total investment around £700m.
Rob Baxter, managing director of Stadler Rail Service UK, added: “The completion of Howdon depot takes us one step closer along the journey to deliver new trains in a couple of years’ time.
“Despite the challenges that 2020 has brought, we have achieved a lot this year, including signing the contract with Nexus, transferring all the depot staff to our business, and starting work to rebuild Gosforth depot.
“With this project now well under way, we look forward to continuing working with Nexus and our local stakeholders and suppliers in 2021 and beyond.”