Radio failure halts travel for shoppers

Could a llama and cart be set to replace llame Metro service?

A fake Facebook page pretending to be South Tyneside Council has announced a llama and cart service will replace the Metro from January 2019

(albeit slightly slower) than the Metro service currently provided.

“We have been considering this action for a while now and this recent disruption is the straw that broke the Llama’s back and as you can see Trevor our Llama driver along with our Llamas ‘Dreadnought’ and ‘Linda’ are ready to go.

“Llamas will operate every 10 minutes from 9am to 7pm daily. “Thank you.” And the llama idea seemed to go down a storm with followers.

Sam Curtis wrote: “Do the llamas observe the transport rules of every 4 1/2 hours they have to have a 45 minute break?”

With the mock South Tyneside Council responding: “All of our Llamas

are entitled to an hour’s lunch per 8 hour shift. They can however take overtime and work through as many choose to.”

David Newton posted: “This would be a much more reliable service!”

While Stephanie Clughen said: “Might get to work quicker next year xx”

Kirsty Watling asked: “Will we be able to buy yearly llama passes please?”

With the phony South Tyneside Council responding: “They’re only £229 a year. Unlimited usage.” But it was Iris Walls who noted: “We’ll get buckets of manure too.” Nexus apologised to customers for the “inconvenience” as passengers faced major delays yesterday. Tickets were accepted in place on various bus services around the region while Metros were down. As the service ground to a halt Metro Services Director Chris Carson said: “Currently there are no Metro trains running across the network due to a major fault with Metro’s communications system. “The radio system we use to communicate with our train drivers is not working and this means that trains cannot operate. “Go North East, Arriva and Stagecoach are accepting tickets to help Metro passengers. “Where possible customers should seek alternative forms of travel until further notice. “We are working on this fault and we hope to restore Metro services as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to our customers.” The Metro resumed in part around lunchtime with a roll-out system to get the rest of it back up and running. A communication failure meant all

A llama and cart service is to replace the Metro system in South Tyneside after recent disruptions brought the service to a standstill.That is the message from a fake Facebook page set up by someone acting the goat as they claimed to be the borough council.But the mock posting has been hailed a great idea by its followers.The tongue-in-cheek post went online as the system-wide Metro failure meant no trains at all were running for part of yesterday.The failure was put down to a major fault with the Metro’s communications system – meaning the radio system used to communicate with the train drivers was not working, which in turn meant the trains could not operate.Under the South Tyneside Council banner, the fictitious Facebook page said: “Totally important announcement!!“After yet another disruption we at South Tyneside Council have decided that we will no longer allow Nexus to run the Metro system through our fine borough.“As of January 1st 2019, all stations from South Shields to Hebburn inclusive will be closed. We will sell the tracks for scrap metal and will instead operate a Llama and Cart service between the stations and the rest of the Nexus network.“We feel the new service will be cheaper, more reliable and more fun