Chris Carson, Metro Services Director, said: "We have cancelled some peak hour Metro services in the last few days and that will continue in the coming weeks because we don't have enough trains available to meet the normal timetable.
"Our passengers can still rely on a Metro train every 12 minutes throughout the day and every six minutes between Pelaw and South Gosforth, but some of the extra trains we add between Pelaw and Monkseaton at peak times will not run. I'm sorry if this means anyone's journey takes a bit longer or trains are busier as a result.
"Our fleet engineering team is doing all it can to make more trains available but it is a struggle as the Metro fleet gets older. We have seen the failure rate of one particular component increase recently during inspections; this component needs to be made specially so there is a delay getting new spares, but we are looking at all possible ways to speed up repairs and make more trains available.”