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Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising the Tyne and Wear Metro, has invested almost a million pounds in a new train wash for its fleet depot in South Gosforth in Newcastle.
The new train wash has been installed as part of the £385m Metro: all change modernisation programme, which will see the Metro system renewed in an 11 year programme of investment in new-look stations, trains and tracks.
Nexus has spent £800,000 on the train wash because the old one was 30 years-old and was becoming a maintenance burden.
The new train wash boasts state of the art technology, including a range of wash settings. It is capable of cleaning the front and rear of the Metro carriage when this previously had to be done by hand.
The installation work began in December and was completed on schedule in mid-March.
Director of Rail and Infrastructure for Nexus, Ken Mackay, said: “We are investing millions of pounds in Metro modernisation work. Getting a new train wash at the Metro fleet depot is a small but very important part of the overall project.
“The old train wash had been there since Metro first started in 1980. It was very much in need of a replacement and we have now delivered that. The benefit for passengers is of course much cleaner trains, because the new wash is vastly superior to the one which has now been removed.”
The train wash will be operated by DB Regio Tyne and Wear (DBTW), the company which operates Metro trains on behalf of Nexus.