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Testing in progress
New Stadler Metro train on the test track
What's changed from the old fleet?
The process to get our new fleet into service has many features. From initial consultations with the public, to now completing driver testing. At the heart of this testing process is ensuring a successful fleet that is reliable and effective in order to serve our customers.
The current timescale:
August 2021 - Production started on the new trains
February 2023 - The first train arrived in the North East for testing
May 2024- Daytime testing begins
18 December 2024 - The first new Metro train entered customer service.
2025 - The new Metro trains will arrive in stages. As each new train enters service, an old one will be removed.
2026- Full new fleet in service
In depth process
A total of 90,000 individual tests are required, with checks on everything, from seats and windscreen wipers, to more big-ticket items like brakes, CCTV, doors, wheels, and power supply.
There are 19,000 hours of training time, with the first few trains completing 37,000 kilometres of running.
There are 22,000 standards and clauses to comply with and 480 staff to train up.
The testing process is to ensure that the new trains work safely and seamlessly with Metro’s 60 stations and 77 kilometres of track.
All of the on-board customer information systems need to be checked and be working correctly, along with the emergency settings and fail-safe systems.
Power consumption, ride quality, and performance reliability are all being scrutinised thoroughly.
Stadler, based in Switzerland, was chosen by Nexus after a year-long global search for the best manufacturing partner for 46 new trains to be delivered up to 2026. They were awarded a £362m contract to build new trains for Metro which will transform the passenger experience and deliver huge energy savings. Read more here.
From rack railways in the Pyrenees and Alps to narrow-gauge lines in Eastern Europe and busy commuter lines through global cities, Stadler has delivered excellence in technology, reliability and comfort.
Stadler is delivering new trains for the Glasgow Subway; the Greater Anglia franchise into London from Cambridge, Norwich and Essex; Transport for Wales; plus Liverpool, where the company has its UK base in a state-of-the-art maintenance hub. Their trams are already running on the Croydon Tram network and tram-trains in Sheffield. Locomotives built by Stadler are in service on networks operated by Chiltern, Scotrail and Trans Pennine Express across Northern England.
The company has also built trains, locomotives and carriages to serve passengers across the world, with recent orders including trains for Berlin, Atlanta, California and as far afield as Brazil.
How we chose Stadler
It would take one person almost eight years to carry out the work which has led Nexus to choose Stadler to build new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro – more than 13,500 hours of painstaking evaluation.
A team of more than 30 Metro managers, external industry experts plus financial and legal advisers, worked through thousands of pages of technical data and detailed design visualisations from rival bidders.
Stadler chose Zurich-based Nose Design Experience teamed with North East firm Octo Design, working in the shadow of Metro’s own Byker Viaduct, to create a new train rooted in the needs of passengers from the very first sketches.
The testing process has been ongoing since the first three Stadler trains arrived in North East England in March 2023.
This started with some basic functionality testing within the depot and first trains started to be tested on our Nexus network in May 2023.
The new trains will each need to complete 10,000 kilometres of fault free running before they are ready for handover.
Stadler has forged new partnerships with more than 30 UK companies in manufacturing, technology and construction as it prepares to build new trains for Metro – around half in North East England.
Nexus invited potential train builders to attend events organised by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, connecting them with a vibrant local supply chain.
Stadler will work with companies across the region to build North East expertise into Metro’s new trains – from specialist glass, cabling and internal finishes through to the crucial drive mechanism – as well as using local expertise to build a £70m new depot.
These new partnerships will endure for up to 35 years as Stadler maintains the new trains for Nexus, employing around 100 people directly, securing jobs through the supply chain and making its own commitments to training and research.
In 2016, we used feedback from 3000 customers to design some of the main elements of our new trains. There was strong support for a linear style seating layout in this consultation- with three-quarters saying it would help create more space at busy times and for luggage and other items.
In September and October 2020 we launched another major public consultation to gather opinions on some of the interior details of the new fleet.
More than 23,000 customers gave their views, ideas and suggestions on how best Metro’s new fleet of trains could meet their needs.
Features of the consultation process included:
A bespoke website to allow viewers to take a virtual trip through the new trains and give their views on key features
Three live webinars talked viewers through the details o the train and viewers took part in live question and answer sessions. The questions and answers from the webinars are detailed here.
11 workshops took place to allow people to have detailed discussions, including dedicated workshops for wheelchair users, deaf users and youth groups.
This huge consultation led by Nexus with Transport Focus and Newcastle University’s Open Lab researchers formed the heart of the specification which bidders were challenged to meet.