Another week and another milestone in the construction of the new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Stadler – who are building 46 new trains – have now started manufacture of the first of 276 sets of bogies (each train will have six) at their factory in Valencia.
The bogies for the first train are due to be attached to the bodyshell at Stadler’s plant in Switzerland where the assembly of the complete train will be taking place. This will happen in the coming months ahead of the first train being delivered to northeast England at the end of this year.
Claudius Oblasser, Project Manager for Stadler, said: “Despite the challenges posed by currently geopolitical events and their implications for global supply chains, Stadler is very pleased to be on the cusp of bogie production. Once these bogies are ready, all the fundamental components will have been built, and while much remains to be done before the trains are complete, I believe this stage demonstrates that real progress is being made, ahead of the rigorous programme of testing, set to kick off this summer.”
Michael Richardson, Head of Fleet and Development at Nexus, added: “It’s great to see that yet another big milestone has been achieved in the production of the new Metro train fleet. This latest phase will involve the production of the bogies – structures with the train wheels attached, so it’s a very important part of the overall build process that Stadler is undertaking at the moment. We are looking forward to seeing the new trains take shape over the coming months, and it will be exciting to see the first one arrive here in the region at the end of this year for testing and training ahead of going into full service in 2023. The new Metro trains are going to transform the network for our customers and for our staff. The Stadler trains will be more reliable, more modern and more energy efficient. They will deliver a step change in quality and comfort.”
All 46 trains are due to have entered service by the end of 2024.