{"id":48781,"date":"2023-03-27T20:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T19:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=48781"},"modified":"2023-03-22T20:35:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:35:16","slug":"official-launch-of-the-tyne-and-wear-metro-trains-takes-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=48781","title":{"rendered":"Official launch of the Tyne and Wear Metro trains takes place"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first of the new Stadler built trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro has been officially unveiled at Gosforth Depot. The celebration event was hosted by Nexus and Stadler on Friday 17th<\/sup> March and was seen as an opportunity to thank many different people who have helped to make the new fleet a reality.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Stadler are supplying 46 new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro (and it could be said they are badly needed with the current fleet showing signs of age with reliability causing timetable changes) in a \u00a3362 million project which has also included the redevelopment of the depot.<\/p>\n

The first of the new trains \u2013 555 003<\/strong> \u2013 was delivered on 28th<\/sup> February and was followed on 11th<\/sup> March by 555 004<\/strong>. Both will now undergo extensive testing and commissioning before driver training. The first trains are expected to enter service by the end of this year with 2025 mentioned as when all 46 will be running.<\/p>\n

Richard Holden MP, Transport Minister, was present at the unveiling: \u201cToday marks a new bright chapter for passengers in Tyne and Wear and the North East who will benefit from some of the most modern metro trains in the country thanks to over \u00a3360 million in Government investment. These sleek new trains will offer cleaner, smoother and more reliable journeys as we leave no stone unturned to boost clean travel, level up transport and grow the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin Kearney, Managing Director at Nexus, in a much happier statement than that released a few days earlier about the current fleet said: \u201cWe are at the beginning of an exciting new era for transport in North East England.\u00a0The Stadler trains are going to be transformative, and we are really excited to get them into service for our customers.\u00a0Stadler are a world class train manufacturer. What they are delivering are trains with the very latest modern technology, which is a massive leap from our current 43-year-old fleet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new train whose design has been shaped by customers, employees, trade unions and specialist user groups. We believe this to have been the most far-reaching consultation yet staged into a new train design. Over 23,000 customer responses have helped to shape the design.\u00a0The hard work starts now to get the trains ready to go into service. The new Metro trains will have to go through a phase of rigorous testing on our network, and all our drivers will need to undertake a period of train handling experience during the implementation phase of the project. We will then be able to put the new train into service so that all of our customers will get to feel the benefits, and share in this moment of history for the Tyne and Wear Metro.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event was an opportunity for people who had been involved in the project to be thanked. This included Metro customers who have shaped the design, local politicians and business leaders who campaigned for funding, some of its many employees and trade union reps involved in the project and local firms supplying parts and technology for the new trains.<\/p>\n

Cllr Martin Gannon, Chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: \u201cI am delighted to see the new train take pride of place in our region\u2019s Metro fleet.\u00a0The technology onboard is very impressive and I\u2019m sure passengers can\u2019t wait to see the new fleet in action. My congratulations to the team at Nexus for their hard work getting the trains ready to enter service \u2013 it is an exciting time for public transport in the North East.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment is a result of the whole region pulling together to secure major funding from government, recognising the huge importance of our Metro system to residents, businesses and of course the region\u2019s economy.\u00a0The new fleet alongside other significant investments in public transport such as the recently completed Metro Flow programme and our Bus Service Improvement Plan, will help to transform the sustainable travel options available for many people \u2013 ensuring our transport system delivers an enjoyable, reliable and safe service which meets the objectives of our region\u2019s Transport Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Steiner, programme director at Stadler, had this to say: \u201cThe new trains that we are supplying are safe, reliable, highly comfortable and designed with the 21st century passenger in mind. The arrival of the first ones in Newcastle is a highly symbolic occasion for Stadler, Nexus, our stakeholders and the passengers who will have the pleasure of travelling on them, heralding an important milestone in the project. We are pleased also to be on the way to completing the new purpose-built depot, which will accommodate the new fleet. Configured to facilitate a range of activities, it will enhance efficiency and vastly improve the working environment, boasting a range of features to promote sustainability and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first of the new Stadler built trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro has been officially unveiled at Gosforth Depot. The celebration event was hosted by Nexus and Stadler on Friday 17th March and was seen as an opportunity … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[67],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48781"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48781"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48782,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48781\/revisions\/48782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}