Stadler’s £362 million programme to supply a new fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro has hit a key milestone, following the completion of 23 of the 46 units.
With half of the trains now built, the fleet is edging closer to introduction into customer service. The rest of the fleet will be completed over the coming months, while testing continues on the local network.
The fleet is being supplied to Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.
The new trains will boast modern features including charging points, air conditioning and an automatic sliding step at every door. This move will make the network more accessible, particularly for the operator’s 50,000 wheelchair-using passengers.
The trains are also designed to minimise energy consumption and fulfil net zero targets, with a lightweight design, recovery of braking energy and highly efficient traction converter technology.
The new fleet is also being fitted with on-board energy storage systems, meaning the trains will in future be able to run on an extended network and make them even more sustainable.
Patrick Küng, project manager at Stadler, said: “Producing half of the fleet illustrates how far we have come in the project to supply these fantastic new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
“Safety, reliability and comfort are at the heart of this product, which has been designed with the 21st century passenger in mind. They will transform rail travel in the north east of England.”
The new trains are METROs, which are tailored to metropolitan networks with frequent stops and short journeys. As well as the fleet of 46 in the North East, Stadler is delivering 53 METRO trains for the Liverpool City Region and 17 for Glasgow Subway.
Testing on the Tyne and Wear network started last year, with thousands of safety and performance tests covering every aspect of the fleet’s design to ensure the trains are ready for service.
The trains began their first daytime test runs earlier in May.
Michael Richardson, head of fleet and depot replacement programme at Nexus, said: “The testing of the new Metro trains continues on our network. We are making good progress and were aiming to get the first trains into customer service later in the year.
“Testing the Stadler Class 555 Metro trains includes 90,000 individual checks. This had previously been taking place overnight when the Metro network is closed. It covers everything from seats and windscreen wipers, to more big-ticket items like brakes, CCTV, doors, wheels, and power supply.”
There will be around 19,000 hours of testing in total, with trains completing up to 37,000 kilometres of running.
Image credit: iStock
Video credit: Nexus
