First of new Metro fleet enters service - milestone comes after 'frustrating' setbacks

After years of waiting, passengers can at last set foot this morning on one of the Swiss-built carriages that it is hoped will herald a brighter future for the North East’s public transport.

The train rolled out of the Nexus learning centre in South Shields this morning and is picked up its first passengers at 11.04am on a short service between Pelaw and Monkseaton, before being taken out further on the Metro map over the coming days.

Its entry into the Metro timetable marks a key moment in the delivery of the £362million fleet, built by manufacturing giant Stadler.

The arrival of the new trains has been plagued by a series of setbacks that have left customers increasingly frustrated.

Summer 2023 was originally earmarked as the target for the first of 46 new trains to enter service.

But Nexus bosses said that the carriages arriving in the North East for local testing and driver training later than planned, as well as wider factors including inflation and the war in Ukraine, were to blame for that date being missed.

There was then a substantial setback at the beginning of this year, when it emerged that a problem with the trains’ traction system would delay their introduction even further.

Since that time, transport chiefs have said that they wanted to have a new train in service by the end of 2024 – an aim which has now been achieved, with just a couple of weeks to spare.

Passengers should notice a vast upgrade compared to the outdated carriages that have served the region since 1980 and have become increasingly fault-prone over recent years.

As well as being an estimated 15 times more reliable, the new trains boast air conditioning, USB charging points, and a sliding step at every door.

Another obvious difference is that the Stadler Class 555 trains have London Tube-style liner seating, designed to make them more spacious, and are decorated with colourful local artwork.

Getting the new fleet ready to enter use involves meeting around 22,000 standards and clauses, carrying out 90,000 individual checks on every piece of equipment from brakes to windscreen wipers, and training hundreds of Nexus staff.

The entirety of the new fleet will be rolled out over the next two years, as the old trains are phased out and retired.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness, who was on board the first train, said:

“This is an historic day for Metro and a moment I know will come as a relief to passengers, as well as being something to celebrate.

“I pressed Nexus and Stadler to get the first new Metro train out there for passengers as quickly as possible. I know how much hard work has gone into making that happen from many people involved in testing and solving the technical challenges. I look forward to seeing these new trains becoming a common sight next year as they are phased into use.”

Cathy Massarella, managing director of Metro operator Nexus, said that the carriages would “transform the customer experience, delivering more comfort, more quality and more reliability”.

She added: “We’re already looking forward to getting more new trains into service over the coming months.

“A vast amount of work has gone into this project, which is our biggest since Metro was first built. Our workforce has put in a huge effort to get the trains ready for service and my sincere thanks go to everyone involved.

“The roll out of all 46 new trains will be taking place in phases going forward, so customers will see the old and the new trains out together on the system.”

Kevin Dickinson, of the Sort Out the Metro passenger group, said: “This is a major milestone and something passengers have been waiting for for a long time. Everyone involved in finally getting the trains into service should be congratulated and we look forward to seeing more now trains in service as weeks pass by.

“Hopefully the extra testing means we will see a much improved reliability of trains and focus can move to other elements of the service that need to improve if we are to have a service that passengers can rely on.

“We are still a long way from the world class service that the mayor has promised but this is a major milestone and should be celebrated.”

Councillor Paul Edgeworth, leader of the Lib Dem opposition on Sunderland City Council, said: “Instead of celebrating the first new train finally entering service, the Mayor and Labour council bosses in charge of regional transport should be hanging their heads in shame and apologising to the people of Sunderland for making us put up with such an atrocious and unreliable Metro system for far longer than necessary.

“We were promised these new trains by summer 2023. Instead we’ve been forced to endure constant break-downs and a barely functioning service for far too long. Having a single, solitary new train in service isn’t going to fix that and is certainly no reason to celebrate.

“The Mayor must now rule out any new year rises in Metro ticket costs until all of the new trains have entered service and we finally have a system that we can actually rely on to get us from A to B without endless delays and cancellations.”