Metro performance plummets

Look away now if you’re of a delicate disposition. The latest performance figures on the Tyne and Wear Metro have been released (as normal shown on posters put up at stations on the network) and they make for very disappointing reading being significantly below the same period in 2023/4.

As always the figures cover four weeks with this period being 8th December 2024 to 4th January 2025. In that period just 65% of trains were reported as being on time (within 3 minutes later or 30 seconds earlier than the timetable) which still isn’t the lowest figure having been experienced in recent years (that dubious honour goes to the 2023/4 financial year when one period saw 61% of trains on time).

This doesn’t compare favourably with either the previous four weeks or the same period the previous year. The previous period up until 7th December 2024 had seen 75% of trains on time (a figure which was low enough) whilst 2023/4 saw the figure at 81%.

Obviously, the four weeks here included significant disruption for the network a lot of which was not down to either Nexus or Stadler. It saw a complete closure through Gateshead because of the safety concerns after the closure of the Gateshead flyover whilst there was also another bridge issue. There were also further overhead line problems alongside the continued availability issues of the outgoing Metrocars.

When Stadler won the contract to build the new fleet of trains they also took on the maintenance of the existing fleet, but with delays to the introduction of the new units they have often struggled to get enough of the over 40 year old vehicles which have run the service since day one of the network.

Recent local media reports have stated that Stadler have been fined a total of £2.3 million as a result of the poor availability of the trains. This is part of their maintenance contract, and rather than it being a fine as such it is more contractual payments are not made to the company. The majority of the penalties came in the financial year 2023/4 (almost £1.5 million).

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