Metro seeing 'better recovery than Tube'

The financial struggles facing Metro have seldom been far from the headlines since the pandemic began

At their lowest, passenger numbers on the network slumped to about 5% of their pre-COVID levels at the height of the national lockdown.

In September, commuters on the North East’s light rail network had recovered to about half of what they were before the outbreak.

But on the Tube, about a third of travellers have decided to return, up from a similarly low point in April, a position mirrored in National Rail services.

Metro operator Nexus also admitted the imposition of local restrictions late in September had seen passenger numbers fall again, this time to about 40%.

Paul Darby, deputy chief finance officer at the North East Combined Authority (NECA), told a meeting of the North East Joint Transport Committee’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee: “The return in patronage and overall performance of Metro is broadly similar, if not slightly ahead of similar services.”

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