On 1 April 2010 DB Regio Tyne and Wear Ltd (DBTW) will commence operation of Metro stations and trains on behalf of Nexus. This date also marks the start of the big Metro 100 Day Clean Up to improve passengers’ travel experience, just part of the programme of modernisation that will see Nexus invest almost £400 million over the next 11 years renewing track, overhead lines, bridges, trains and stations. Linked to this is the start of the Metro – time to ‘dig it’ campaign, which aims to reawaken community pride in this essential transport service, used by more than 40 million passengers each year.
To celebrate this occasion, at 10:00am, Thursday, 1 April at Longbenton Station, Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, will welcome Richard McClean, MD of DB Regio Tyne and Wear Ltd as a partner in the delivery of the service. They will start a countdown clock for the Metro 100 Days Clean Up. For instance, at Longbenton passengers will soon see improvements such as a freshly painted station, mended seats and graffiti will be removed. At Cullercoats the footbridge, including the stair treads, will be repaired, graffiti will be cleaned away, and the smell of fresh paint will soon pervade the air as the station undergoes a transformation.
As part of the Metro – time to ‘dig it’ campaign, Metro staff will be handing out free packets of Sunflower seeds to all passengers who travel on the handover day, which can be planted in April and will reach their full blooming glory within 60 days.
Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus said: “Today marks the first day of a partnership in which DB Regio Tyne and Wear Ltd will operate trains and stations on our behalf and our passengers will immediately start to see the positive difference our new concessionaire will make.”
Richard McClean, DBTW’s Managing Director said: “I am enormously proud to join with Bernard Garner to mark the start of the Metro Concession and the immediate start of the Metro 100 Day Clean Up programme. This is just the first of a series of investments we will be delivering, which will lead to quick and visible improvement to the whole Metro experience.
Metro’s committed workforce provides a good service to passengers today and the commitments DBTW has made to Nexus in the Concession Agreement will build on this and deliver a railway that will be recognised as truly excellent.”
Welcome to the Metro online community
On 1 April a new online community for Metro will go live. It will share news on the Metro 100 Day Clean Up as they happen. Visit www.nexus.org.uk/metro and then click on the ‘Dig It’ banner link. As well as a news section about the new concession, it will have a 100 Day Countdown schedule, which will show the improvements that will be made over this time and ticks off when they have been completed. It will also have an image gallery and a nomination area for deserving recipients of the Metro ‘Dig It’ Makeover competition, which will be announced at a later date.