The refurbishment will see passenger compartments and cabs on each Metrocar completely rebuilt. Nexus, which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has ordered the work on the Metrocars, which have each clocked up more than two million kilometres service since entering service 30 years ago.
DB Regio Tyne and Wear (DBTW), which operates trains and stations on behalf of Nexus, is delivering the ‘three-quarter life’ refurbishment, which will be carried out by WabTec in Doncaster, a company which has carried out similar projects for London Underground trains. The work is expected to be complete early in 2015.
A previous refurbishment programme was carried out at Metro’s Gosforth depot, however the greater scale of the work this time round led DBTW to choose a specialist external firm.
The first Metrocar to be chosen for refurbishment is 4041, named after the late Newcastle Councillor and MP Harry Cowans in honour of the work he did in the 1970s to get the Tyne and Wear Metro built.
The refurbishment programme is being managed by DBTW against rigorous timescales, ensuring the work has no impact on the day-to-day operation of Metro, which requires more than 80 of the fleet at peak times.