The Tyne and Wear Metro is continuing to see regular service disruption with much of the blame for the poor service being put at the wheels of the struggling remaining original Metrocars. The peak-time extras were removed from the timetable earlier this year but even with that reduction in number of trains needed there are still frequent cancellations to services on a regular basis.
Whilst only three members of the original Metrocar fleet have now been scrapped/will be scrapped soon (4022 and now 4055 and 4062) there are a large number of others which have been sidelined. Many of these are incredibly unlikely to be returned to an active role in service and so the network will have to solider on with what it has until the new trains enter service.
Realising that the availability of the fleet has become a major issue a statement has recently been released by Stadler (who as well as building the new trains for the network have also taken on responsibility for the maintenance of the outgoing fleet).
Paul Patrick, Managing Director at Stadler Rail Service UK, said: “We are facing the ongoing challenge to keep the 43-year-old Metro fleet going while we transition to the new trains. Despite our best efforts, the ageing fleet is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and repair, leading to frequent service disruptions and customer inconvenience and I apologise for this.
“These challenges are leading to higher demands on our team and made worse by a shortage of spare parts for the older trains, resulting in extended downtime and delays in the service. We are doing everything we can to work through these issues including actively working with suppliers and manufacturers to source the necessary spare parts for the aging fleet as well as increasing our team resource.
“Ultimately, we understand the impact this is having on customers and the urgency of overcoming these ongoing issues. Our priority is to provide a more reliable and efficient train service as quickly as possible.
“We are transitioning to the new £70m depot at Gosforth, which is a fantastic, modern, new facility, and Metro has a really bright future to look forward to with the first new trains already in testing and on the way towards entering service. The new trains will be transformative, offering greater reliability, comfort and accessibility. We appreciate customers’ patience while we transition from the old trains to the new ones.”
The latest two performance posters have shown the issues with performance for all to see:
- 1st-29th April: 78% (previous 4 weeks – 78%, same period in 2022 – 90%)
- 30th April-27th May: 87% (previous 4 weeks – 78%, same period in 2022 – 90%)
As usual an on-time train is within 3 minutes late or 30 seconds earlier than timetabled.