A special machine for washing the Tyne and Wear Metro train fleet is up and running at Gosforth Depot in Newcastle.
The carriage wash – which looks similar in appearance to a giant car wash – is capable of cleaning both the current and the new Metro trains.
Stadler, the Swiss train manufacturer, replaced Metro carriage wash as part of the £70m rebuild of Gosforth Depot – a key part of its contract with Nexus.
It provides more effective exterior cleaning and is a major part of the train presentation facilities at the Metro depot.
Its giant rotating brushes and water jets are capable of rinsing dirt and grime from a Metro train’s bodywork in just a couple of minutes.
Marc Robson, Stadler’s Head of Location at Gosforth Depot, said: “The new carriage wash is a real game changer for us and has delivered a huge improvement to our Metro train care facilities.
“It’s a modern, new piece of equipment which allows us to clean the Metro fleet more effectively. It’s helping us to avoid the need to wash the Metro carriages by hand.
“The machine works on exactly the same principles as a car wash. The water comes on and the brushes start spinning to scrub the train clean before it’s dried off at the end by a blast of air from the fans.
“We can use the machine on the new Metro trains, and on the current fleet. They both fit through it.
“A train will go through approximately every seven days as a minimum. That’s based on the on the rotation of Metro service requirements and the train stabling capacity at the depot.”
The Metro trains are washed on a rolling weekly programme.
A special metal maintenance shed houses the carriage wash, which comes complete with water jets, rotating brushes, and giant fans for the drying process.
The Metro driver takes the train through the carriage wash at a speed of three kilometres per hour. When the train enters the machine it is misted before the water jets and brushes activate.
Detergent gets mixed with water for each carriage which is being washed. It is then polished by the rotating scrubbers and blow dried on the way out.
As more new Metro trains go into service, the carriage wash will be used more frequently, and it is one of a number of new updated features of the depot that allow the Stadler team to maintain the trains to the highest possible standard.