More efficient, more reliable, more environmentally friendly- we're replacing our whole Metro fleet with 46 new trains.
What's new with the new trains?
- Single train - walk right through
- Climate controlled passenger carriage
- Charging points throughout the train
- External and internal destination screens
- Four wheelchair spaces per train plus multi-use spaces for bikes, pushchairs and luggage
- Sliding step at every door
- Information screens throughout the train
- 44 high-definition digital CCTV cameras on each train
Wider benefits
- More energy efficient
- £70m new train depot featuring rainwater recycling, daylight capture and other environmental features
Timescales
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.
2024 - The first train is scheduled to enter service for customers. The new Metro trains will arrive in stages. As each new train enters service, an old one will be removed from service
2026 - Full new fleet in service
Watch the development of our new fleet via our You Tube videos: New Metro fleet - YouTube
Your involvement in our new trains
In 2016 we asked you what you wanted from your new Metro. We listened and used the feedback from 3000 customers to design some of the main elements of our new trains. Passengers strongly supported the 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.
The four weeks of consultation resulted in over 23,000 responses from the public.
- A bespoke website was created 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 of 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.
Our train builder
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.
The new trains, based on the ideas and suggestions of more than 3,000 passengers, will cut Metro’s high voltage power consumption while providing Metro’s 36 million passengers with modern features including charging points, climate controlled passanger carriage and a step-change in accessibility.
Take a tour inside our new Metro train
Take a tour around the interior of our new Metro trains – a design that has been shaped by the ideas and suggestions of our passengers.
Newcastle firm Octo Design worked with Zurich’s Nose Design Experience to create the stylish interior based on feedback from more than 3,000 Metro passengers who took part in our consultation.
The new layout features linear seating, offering an open plan space designed to cope with busiest of days, while providing four dedicated areas for wheelchairs, plus bike, buggy and luggage storage.
The new train fleet design book is in the downloads section below. This document is a copy of the detailed Design Book submitted by Stadler as part of its bid. Posters and some other features were included for illustration only and are not exact representations of what will appear in the final train.
The results of the consultation with passengers that led to the design specification is also available below.
We'll be adding more materials about the new fleet in the coming days and weeks, so come back to see what's new.