The week commencing 15th June 2026 was a busy one for scrap moves on the Tyne and Wear Metro with no fewer than four Metrocars heading off on a one way road journey to Bishop Auckland.
It was four consecutive days which saw moves starting off on Monday 15th with 4085 and then followed by 4009 on Tuesday 16th, 4027 on Wednesday 17th and 4035 on Thursday 18th June.
All four units were moved from Gosforth to Howdon in the usual “sandwich move” with two of their still operational classmates doing the honours of escorting them on one final journey.
Once at Howdon they were then loaded onto a low loader and after that it was a road trip to J Denham Metals in Bishop Auckland.
Following the removal of these four it leaves just nine remaining at Gosforth: 4020, 4024, 4029, 4041, 4050, 4068, 4078, 4079 and 4081.
The week of 22nd June 2026 is the last guaranteed week of Metrocars being used in service. One diagram will be out – covering both routes – on all weekdays up until the final day of Friday 26th June.
The units are due to operate the following services:
- 0933 South Gosforth to South Hylton 1028
- 1055 South Hylton to Airport 1206
- 1217 Airport to Regent Centre 1229
- 1342 South Gosforth to St James 1432
- 1443 St James to South Shields 1610
- 1623 South Shields to South Gosforth 1701
- 1704 Regent Centre to Airport 1718
- 1722 Airport to Regent Centre 1735
After that whilst they may make the odd appearance nothing will be booked so if you don’t get a ride during this week you may never get the chance again!