North on track for new trains
METRO TO GET FIRST OF ITS NEW RAIL FLEET NEXT MONTH
THE first of the new Tyne Wear Metro trains will arrive in Newcastle next month.
It will not be until late in 2023 passengers can take their first trip on the of the 46 Swiss-built Metro trains, which Nexus say will be 15 times more reliable than the current fleet.
Manufacturer Stadler has finished at least two of the trains and has tried them on its track in the Czech Republic, where Metro drivers will be taken in groups to get to grips with the Class 555 Metro.
Once the new Metros arrive in the UK and are hauled to the depot in Gosforththey will gradually replace the existing fleet one by one after driver training and testing is completed.
A Nexus spokesperson said: “The Stadler trains mark the start of a new era for Metro.
“Among the new features will be an automatic sliding step at every door of the new trains, making travel easier for Metro’s 50,000 wheelchair passengers as well as people with children’s buggies, luggage or bicycles.
“Stadler is also close to completing a new £70m Metro depot at Gosforth, which will be a modern new home for the new trains.”
Nexus initially hoped to have the first of the Class 555 Metro trains running on the network by summer 2023.
It has since revised that and is now targetting an autumn 2023 launch date.
The spokesperson said: “The new Stadler trains are going to transform the Tyne and Wear Metro for customers and for staff.
“They will deliver a step change in comfort and quality.
“This is the biggest project on Metro since the network first opened more than 40 years ago.
“We are really excited to get the first new train into customer service in the autumn of 2023 once a period of testing and driver training has been completed.
“Stadler aims to have all of the new Metro train fleet here by late 2024 or early 2025.”
Some of the current trains will stay on the tracks until early 2025.