See the chaotic scene at busy Metro station as huge crowds left waiting in cold following failed train during rush hour

A photo sent in by a reader shows what appears to be more than 100 passengers waiting for a train at Fellgate Metro Station at around 5pm on Wednesday, December 11.

The commuters were left braving the elements after they were made to disembark from the Metro heading towards South Hylton after the train they were on failed.

One passenger told the Echo how he had been made to waiting for the next train following a 28 minute for the train he was originally on to arrive, prior to the problem.

In a Tweet, Nexus, the operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro said: “A train was withdrawn from service at Fellgate due to a fault.”

And just minutes later at 5.55pm, two more trains were withdrawn from service following a power fault.

A train from Jarrow to South Shields failed as a result of the fault and a train from Bankfoot heading towards the airport was also taken out of service.

The chaotic scenes follow days of industrial action by Metro drivers who are in a row about overtime working which has led to gaps in services and cancelled trains.

Nexus has apologised for the disruption and confirmed that trains are still running but as subject to delays.

A spokesman for the operator said: “A train at Fellgate was withdrawn from service at 5.30pm due to a power fault.

“Two other trains – one at Jarrow and another at Bankfoot – were also taken out of service due to a power fault at 5.55pm.

“Nexus would like to apologise for the disruption to passengers.

“Trains are still running but with gaps to service as a result of the ongoing industrial action.”

The action taken by drivers in the ASLEF and RMT unions started on Sunday, December 1 and comes after drivers in the two unions decided to shun a 15% pay rise offer.

However, Aslef has said its 50-strong members working for the Metro are calling for the same level of pay they could get for another operator and as a result the unions have withdrawn overtime.

Nexus says runs Metro as a public service without profit – all the money it receives in fares go towards the cost of operating, including employee wages.

It says it cannot afford to go beyond the offer it has made.

Over the course of the industrial action a number of peak services have been cancelled and there have been gaps in services.

And the disruption looks set to continue after it was announced that RMT union members will strike on December 20 and 21, a move that will cause huge disruption for shoppers and commuters with no Metro trains running on two of the busiest days of the year.