The first new Tyne and Wear metro train is finally in service

This is the first train out of the three hundred and sixty two million pound fleet, that was meant to be in service in August 2023.

Transcript

00:00Finally, the new Tyne and Wear Metro train is officially in service. The Swiss-built

00:06carriages picked up their first passengers earlier today on a short service between Pelaw

00:11and Monks Eaton before being taken out with favour on the Metro map over the coming days.

00:16This is the first train out of the £362 million fleet that was meant to be in service in August

00:222023. However, Nexus, who run the Tyne and Wear Metro system, said that the carriages

00:28later than expected for local testing and driver training, as well as other factors

00:33such as the war in Ukraine and inflation, were the reasons for the massive delay.

00:38The new trains have had huge upgrades nonetheless, with an estimation to be 15 times more reliable

00:44than the old 1980s trains. They have air-conditioning, USB charging ports, sliding steps at each

00:50door, are more spacious and decorated with colourful local artwork, which should all

00:55make the journeys a lot more pleasant for all passengers.