No. 555004 inside the new depot purpose-built for the Class 555 fleet. It replaces facilities on the opposite side of the site that were originally used by the LNER for the servicing and stabling of third-rail electric multiple units then used on local suburban services. Inherited by British Rail, which de-electrified the routes, it became the base for the Class 599 ‘Metrocars’ as lines were converted for Metro operation. The old depot, parts of which had already been dismantled as part of the redevelopment, finally closed in January this year after a century of service.
THE future of the Tyne & Wear Metro is bright. Well... bright yellow, grey and black to be precise. And five-car, built by Stadler in Switzerland – although a number of the components (windows, wiring and drive systems, to name but three) were manufactured in the North East, some within a few miles of the network.
Over the course of the next two years, Stadler will complete the delivery and commissioning of the 46 new Class 555 trains to replace the Metro’s entire existing fleet of Metro-Cammell-built ‘Metrocars’ (known as Class 599 for use on the main line), which are as old as the system itself.
The Metrocars were based on the German Stadtbahnwagen Type B and fairly advanced for their time, incorporating wide gangways between vehicles and Jacobs bogies (a type of articulation) – both of which also feature on the ‘555s’. However, looking around No. 555004 (the second of the new units to arrive at the Metro’s new £70million South Gosforth depot in Newcastle), it is not difficult to tell that the new and old designs are separated by almost half a century.
The Class 555 has air conditioning and a brighter, more spacious feel than the Class 599. Two shades of seat moquette (priority seating is lighter grey) and transparent panels at the end of seat rows feature the Metro’s ‘M’ logo. Armrests have USB charging sockets. Above the windows are colour screens giving details including the time and train’s current position; next, following stations and destination; as well as indication of loadings throughout the train. Priority seating is positioned opposite these displays and there are also ‘next stop’ dot matrix boards throughout the train to complement announcements.