It has been a very busy few weeks of change on the Tyne and Wear Metro network with old trains going for scrap whilst new trains have entered service with more being delivered from Switzerland. In this article we have a catch-up of what has been happening in the past few weeks since our last update.
We start with the scrappings and can report on no fewer than six units having headed on their very last journey for an appointment with the scrap merchant.
The units which have headed for scrap are:
4005 – 1st December
4049 – 2nd December
4043 – 8th December
4051 – 9th December
4074 – 10th December
4075 – 11th December
That now brings the total number of scrappings up to 52 (of 90). And, of course, there have also been two other departures as 4001 entered preservation and 4019 headed to the Tyne and Wear Fire Service training centre.
But its not all doom and gloom as at least two more of the new Stadler built trains have entered service. Both 555 019 and 555 039 were first reported as entering service on 28th November 2025.
Both of these two units came as part of the same triple delivery from mainland Europe on 8th/9th August, meaning its taken almost four months for them to enter service.
And the third category of fleet changes is the delivery of new trains from the Stadler plant in Switzerland and we have also seen another the arrival of three units since our last update.
Coming the usual way via the Channel Tunnel and then tripped up the UK – RailAdventure used a pair of class 20 locomotives again for this move – the three arrived on Metro metals on 5th December 2025. The latest three arrivals were 555 033, 555 042 and 555 044.
This now means that the only units to be delivered to the UK are 555 022, 555 023, 555 026, 555 029, 555 045 and 555 046.
555 039 has seen arrived at Kingston Park on the Airport line in this photo as it terminates short with a service. (Photograph by Simon Robinson, 9th December 2025)