Tyne & Wear Metro: Fleet Refurbishment List

[Paul_10]

Not really related to the refurbishments but Metrocars 4038/64(currently paired together) have received a different voice to the PA and door's closing tone, from the sounds of it, it sounds like that male voice that people on here may of heard when talking about the pop cards and the ticket gates/validators switch on. Slight difference noted that the 'new' announcements just start with "next station is" and not "the next station is" not sure if there were any other slight differences but no doubt Four Lane Ends will sound more accurate than in the past!

I wonder how long it will take before the female voice is replaced by the male voice across the fleet and I wonder if the female voice will be replaced on the station platform's PA's when a train is arriving in the future too.

Just to add, I caught this same set again but travelled a bit further than Gateshead to Haymarket and noted some fairly interesting differences between the announcements.

Central station is now apparently just Central, wonder if there is plan within the possible refurbishment of Central Station to rename it Central, either way, it seemed a bit odd hearing "This is Central".

Slight changes for Monument too, the announcement said something like "Next station Monument, change here for Newcastle City Centre, Whitley Bay Via Wallsend and St James"*

And there was a slight but fairly interesting for Haymarket too. On the lines of "Next station is Haymarket, change here for Newcastle City Centre, shopping and local bus services"*

It was interesting shopping was added to the Haymarket announcement but I think there was a suggestion on the Nexus forums well in the past to include extras into the announcements like that so maybe they took the idea on board from the forums?

After hearing the announcements again, they do sound a bit out of sync like the female announcer but I'm sure the voice is a proper human voice and nothing automated.

*Those were the approximate words from what I can remember!

 

[Tbrown1980]

Has anyone heard anymore about the metrocars which are at Doncaster for refurbishment? I haven't heard anything lately about the metro cars returning to go back into service. Also, have any new metrocars been spotted heading down there?


Here are a current list which I have of metrocars which are off to be refurbed;
4009 **Currently off for Refurb
4019 **Currently off for Refurb
4039 **Currently off for Refurb (Left for Doncaster on Tuesday 1st April)
4050 **Currently off for Refurb (Left for Doncaster on Friday 11th April)
4065 **Currently off for Refurb (Left for Doncaster on Thursday 24th April)


Also, does anyone know the status of 4045? I understand it was in for a D exam and was expected to return to service on the 28th April, but I haven't seen it lately. If anyone else knows if it's back out now please let me know.


Thanks

Tom

 

[ModernRailways]

4009 has returned.

4045 should be back out in the next week or so from what I've heard.

It will be running Pelaw shorts for the first few days back in service though.

 

[142094]

4019 has been back for a while, and is currently in service. 4047 has gone down today but didn't catch the number of what came back.

 

[Paul_10]

4019 has been back for a while, and is currently in service. 4047 has gone down today but didn't catch the number of what came back.

4039 should be the unit that came back if 4009 has returned.

Got to say the ride quality of some of the refurbished units are quite poor, was sitting in the B end of 4056 today and it was very rattly, yet on other newly refurbished units, the ride is quieter and much smoother.

 

[142094]

Probably needs to go on the wheel lathe. The ones that are coming back into service now probably went just after the wheelslip season had finished, so no doubt would not have been on the lathe to have the weel flats removed.

 

[tez thorn]

Hello im just new to this forum but have a burning question,
Is it just me or is it that metrocars that appear to be fine end up being the ones that go away,i mean i pulled next to 4043 yesterday and it was in a right mess as is 4014 and 16,i dread to think what 4027 and 38 are like as they havent been plain coloured for a while,also is it known what are the other two cars alongside 4001/2 that arent getting refurbished
This isnt meant as a rant
Thanks for listening
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Just to copy and paste your list to fill in the gaps of what I'm lead to believe the current situation is.

4001: Old
4002: Old
4003: Old
4004: Refurb
4005: Old
4006: Refurb
4007: Old
4008: Refurb
4009: *Currently off for Refurb
4010 Refurb
4011: Refurb
4012: Old
4013: Refurb
4014 Old
4015: Refurb
4016 Old
4017: Refurb
4018 Refurb
4019 *Currently off for refurb
4020 Refurb
4021: Old
4022: Refurb
4023 Refurb
4024: Old
4025: Old
4026: Old
4027: Old
4028 Old
4029 Refurb
4030: Refurb
4031: Refurb
4032 Old
4033 Refurb
4034 Refurb
4035: Old
4036 Old
4037: Old
4038: Old
4039 Old
4040 Old
4041: Refurb
4042 Refurb
4043 Refurb
4044: Refurb
4045 *Currently off for refurb??
4046: Refurb
4047: Old
4048 Old
4049: Refurb
4050 Old
4051: Old
4052 Refurb
4053 Refurb
4054: Refurb
4055: Old
4056 Refurb
4057 Refurb
4058: Refurb
4059: Refurb
4060: Refurb
4061: Refurb
4062: Refurb
4063 Refurb
4064 Old
4065: Old
4066 Refurb
4067: Old
4068 Refurb
4069: Refurb
4070: Refurb
4071: Refurb
4072: Refurb
4073: Refurb
4074 Refurb
4075 Refurb
4076 Refurb
4077: Old
4078: Refurb
4079: Refurb
4080 Old
4081: Refurb
4082 Refurb
4083 Old
4084: Old
4085: Old
4086: Currently off for refurb
4087 Old
4088 Old
4089: Refurb
4090 Refurb

If I'm correct with that list, there is currently 36 units unrefurbished but 4 units are apparently won't be heading to Doncaster. Two of them are confirmed rather sadly to be the prototypes(4001/02)

Its also a bit sad too see the variety in the fleet in terms of liveries is also decreasing with each refurbished unit carrying the new grey and black scheme but I suppose one standard livery does give the fleet a more uniformed appearance. It will be interesting what will happen to the four unrefurbished units in terms of their appearance, one may speculate a very basic refresh may occur e.g new livery, seat covers.

4043 is old

 

[Paul_10]

Probably needs to go on the wheel lathe. The ones that are coming back into service now probably went just after the wheelslip season had finished, so no doubt would not have been on the lathe to have the weel flats removed.

But it makes you wonder could all that not been done whilst its been tested out on the system, the ride was not the most pleasents and whilst Metro's do tend to have some rattle, this was particularly bad I felt.

And indeed, 4043 is unrefurbished, my mistake! Although trains are not sent for refurbishment basing on how they look on the outside, there will be a lot more to it than that. I don't believe its random but maybe its just a coincidence that the last train with an advertisement livery that was sent was 4075 which was in December 2012! I wonder if any firms will have their company being advertised on the refurbished cars, there was talk of that Steve/Karen Metro Radio breakfast show being advertised a refurbished metrocar but for whatever reason, this never occurred.

 

[tez thorn]

Its stupid when you think about it,theres no sense of order at all it seems random
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
4001 Prototype(no refurb)
4002 Prototype(no refurb)
4003 Red
4004 Refubished
4005 Red
4006 Refurbished
4007 Red
4008 Refurbished
4009 Refurbished
4010 Refurbished
4011 Refurbished
4012 Red
4013 Refurbished
4014 Red
4015 Refurbished
4016 Blue
4017 Refurbished
4018 Refurbished
4019 Refurbished
4020 Refurbished
4021 Red
4022 Refurbished
4023 Refurbished
4024 Blue
4025 Red
4026 Red
4027 Advertisement
4028 Red
4029 Refurbished
4030 Refurbished
4031 Refurbished
4032 Red
4033 Refurbished
4034 Refurbished
4035 Blue
4036 Green
4037 Red
4038 Advertisement
4039 Refurbished
4040 Advertisement
4041 Refurbished
4042 Refurbished
4043 Red
4044 Refurbished
4045 Advertisement
4046 Refurbished
4047 Refurbished
4048 Red
4049 Refurbished
4050 Refurbished
4051 Refurbished
4052 Refurbished
4053 Refurbished
4054 Refurbished
4055 Advertisement
4056 Refurbished
4057 Refurbished
4058 Refurbished
4059 Refurbished
4060 Refurbished
4061 Refurbished
4062 Refurbished
4063 Refurbished
4064 Red
4065 Refurbished
4066 Refurbished
4067 Advertisement
4068 Refurbished
4069 Refurbished
4070 Refurbished
4071 Refurbished
4072 Refurbished
4073 Refurbished
4074 Refurbished
4075 Refurbished
4076 Refurbished
4077 Red
4078 Refurbished
4079 Refurbished
4080 Advertisement
4081 Refurbished
4082 Refurbished
4083 Advertisement
4084 Advertisement
4085 Red
4086 Refurbished
4087 Red
4088 Red
4089 Refurbished
4090 Refurbished
Metrocars Refurbished:57 No Left:29
whenever you spot one going away,let me know and i will update this list
Tez

 

[142094]

But it makes you wonder could all that not been done whilst its been tested out on the system, the ride was not the most pleasents and whilst Metro's do tend to have some rattle, this was particularly bad I felt.

Depends on how bad the flats are, and what the situation is with the rest of the fleet. Generally a driver will report the train as having flats, but there is a tolerance level, so it wouldn't go into service if the flats were beyond a certain tolerance. Withdrawing the car from service for flats is probably low down on the list, seeing as it is better to keep cars at Gosforth which require more complex work doing to them (such as what is happening to 4045).

I wonder if any firms will have their company being advertised on the refurbished cars, there was talk of that Steve/Karen Metro Radio breakfast show being advertised a refurbished metrocar but for whatever reason, this never occurred.

IIRC on the Nexus forums it was said that the Metro Radio one would have to be done on an old car, as they did not want to spoil the new 'corporate image'. Apparently there will be one car which has a different livery to mark passing the half way stage in the refurbishment but I haven't heard for definite what this will be.

This list is completed best of my knowledge,i know a metrocar gained an east coast trains livery along with 4084

4038 is the other one with the East Coast livery.

 

[S Lowes]

Apparently there will be one car which has a different livery to mark passing the half way stage in the refurbishment but I haven't heard for definite what this will be.

When i was at the depot a few weeks ago there's a note about this on the white board in the staff room,

To mark the halfway stage in the fleet refurbishment program there will be 2 metrocars repainted to mark the occasion, one will be black and white, & one will be red and white.

 

[tez thorn]

Y those colours,it will look hidious,my guess will be that 4066 will get one of them as this was the halfway metrocar,but weather 4068 gets it as it was number 44,or 4063 being number 42,who knows

 

[sprinterguy]

Y those colours,it will look hidious

No doubt because those are the colours of the two predominant local football teams in the Tyne and Wear area.

Metro might have to be careful how they roster those on Derby days!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

4038 is the other one with the East Coast livery.

Nice to see the livery of the East Coast operator adorning the sides of a Metrocar again. I was always impressed by the GNER liveried Metrocar (4055) whenever I saw it, over a decade ago!

 

[142094]

No doubt because those are the colours of the two predominant local football teams in the Tyne and Wear area.

Metro might have to be careful how they roster those on Derby days!

That will be interesting. Pick the wrong one and it might have a few windows put out.

 

[tez thorn]

Thats where the unrefurbished cars will see service,cus the other two will constantly be out of service,wonder how it will take before metro realise,also i wish they would do something with 4055 that advert is years out of date even 4002,but it would take loads to put 4002 back to its original state,shame really

 

[ModernRailways]

Thats where the unrefurbished cars will see service,cus the other two will constantly be out of service,wonder how it will take before metro realise,also i wish they would do something with 4055 that advert is years out of date even 4002,but it would take loads to put 4002 back to its original state,shame really

Reliability has picked up quite significantly lately! I also doubt anyone will put the windows out over the colour of the train. If they are going to put the windows out then it's more than likely going to be on a match day train and on derby day. It's also the drunken idiots who would do it...

4055 isn't particularly out of date, but it will be gone for refurb soon anyway.

4002 the livery is still relevant tbh. The website just redirects to Nexus (I always use tyneandwearmetro.co.uk instead of Nexus). If that is out of date though I dread to think how old 4001 is

 

[Paul_10]

4002 the livery is still relevant tbh. The website just redirects to Nexus (I always use tyneandwearmetro.co.uk instead of Nexus). If that is out of date though I dread to think how old 4001 is

The tyneandwearmetro website is well out of date and been shut down for years now, I believe the website was created by Nexus but it only featured on the metro itself and nothing else. The layout of the page has got some similarity to the livery in which it was mainly yellow and black and those "circles" were different "'tabs" linking to various pages if I remembered correctly. Now as you say, it just redirects to the Nexus website.

So in that effect, the livery is out of date and so is 4055 EU funding livery. 4001 was re-liveried into the original PTE livery during the mid-life refurbishment(believe the prototypes were done around 1999/2000). It recieved one re-paint in preparation for the 25th anniversary celebrations since.

Interesting too see if any refurbished cars will get this livery that has been mentioned on here, the half way point has passed now and it will be interesting how this livery is going to look.

 

[ModernRailways]

The tyneandwearmetro website is well out of date and been shut down for years now, I believe the website was created by Nexus but it only featured on the metro itself and nothing else. The layout of the page has got some similarity to the livery in which it was mainly yellow and black and those "circles" were different "'tabs" linking to various pages if I remembered correctly. Now as you say, it just redirects to the Nexus website.

So in that effect, the livery is out of date and so is 4055 EU funding livery. 4001 was re-liveried into the original PTE livery during the mid-life refurbishment(believe the prototypes were done around 1999/2000). It recieved one re-paint in preparation for the 25th anniversary celebrations since.

Interesting too see if any refurbished cars will get this livery that has been mentioned on here, the half way point has passed now and it will be interesting how this livery is going to look.

It would be way out of date if it was still going! Here it is on Wayback Machine

I see your point, but essentially the new Nexus site gives the same info + more. It just needs a more modern look which won't happen now.

What was 4055 EU funding for? IIRC, it was for the Sunderland Extension but it still advertises correctly since the Metro was part funded by the EU. It's old and needs removed but it's obviously cheaper to just keep it as is because it's not advertising a product like the Emirates/Airport/East Coast sets are.


Is 4045 back out yet? I'm sure I saw it on a Peak earlier but not 100% sure as we were going over Pelaw Junction.

 

[142094]

4045 was still at the depot this afternoon, revised date to re-enter service is the 21st.

 

[tez thorn]

4002 was originally the old 1975 pte livery as well as 4001,which are both prototypes and used to run as a pair when 4002 recieved the metro website livery,these units are 40+ years old,but over the years the interiors have been made to look like the rest of the fleet,hope this helps
I will fill in the gap for 4045 in just a second,also if anyone has any updates on the refurbishment then let me know by any means the list is correct as of last wednesday,also 4015 will be out of action for a short while as it is covered in graffiti
Regards
Tez

 

[ModernRailways]

4002 was originally the old 1975 pte livery as well as 4001,which are both prototypes and used to run as a pair when 4002 recieved the metro website livery,these units are 40+ years old,but over the years the interiors have been made to look like the rest of the fleet,hope this helps
I will fill in the gap for 4045 in just a second,also if anyone has any updates on the refurbishment then let me know by any means the list is correct as of last wednesday,also 4015 will be out of action for a short while as it is covered in graffiti
Regards
Tez

All of them wore the old PTE livery, but since the 1st refurbishment they have had a mixture.

4015 was out earlier? I know it had been covered in graffiti but IIRC that was a good month or two ago now!


The rate these refurbs are coming back now is astonishing. Just before Christmas I was glad when a refurb pulled in, now I'm glad when an unrefurbished set pulls in with the announcements off.

Finally, has 4002 been given a new motor? As it was pulling away it had a really nice Class 319 style sound to it!

 

[sprinterguy]

All of them wore the old PTE livery, but since the 1st refurbishment they have had a mixture.

There were two variants of the Tyne & Wear PTE livery pre and post de-regulation of the bus industry though: Prior to 1986, the prototype and production Metro cars wore the yellow and white PTE livery with a maroon stripe, and the old TWPTE "cross-river" logo, and following 1986 the livery featured a blue stripe and the new "TW" and Metro "M" logos. 4002 certainly gained the latter scheme during its' life, and I presume that 4001 did too before being returned to the original 1975 scheme.

 

[tez thorn]

There was also a trial brand with a thick blue line instead of the thin one on metrocars 4045 and 4019

 

[Kryten2340]

Reliability has picked up quite significantly lately! I also doubt anyone will put the windows out over the colour of the train. If they are going to put the windows out then it's more than likely going to be on a match day train and on derby day. It's also the drunken idiots who would do it...

4055 isn't particularly out of date, but it will be gone for refurb soon anyway.

4002 the livery is still relevant tbh. The website just redirects to Nexus (I always use tyneandwearmetro.co.uk instead of Nexus). If that is out of date though I dread to think how old 4001 is

Think you spoke to soon about reliability. Not a good day today by all accounts prompting the usual wrong kind of heat comments from the Facebook crowd. I think most on there could do with a basic physics lesson. Metal expands when hot.

 

[142094]

Overhead wires went down on Friday night at Bank Foot, so two trains were stuck at Bank Foot and one at the Airport. Not a good day on Saturday, quite a few failures and also resource issues.

4015 is back out and is now coupled with 4009, which has recently returned. 4045 is still at the depot.

 

[ModernRailways]

Managed to nab 4038 up to Gateshead tonight. Good god those announcements are horrible!

They are better in the sense the station names are said properly, BUT it's not smooth, so instead of 'The next station is Gateshead. Change here for all Local Bus services' it comes out 'Next station'....'Gateshead'...'Change here'....'For all Local'...' Bus services'.

'Doors Closing' should be in a different voice to the normal announcements. You cannot differentiate between them other than the words being spoken.

The guy who has done them also has a highly annoying voice. He doesn't sound robotic enough, but he makes the announcements in a very robotic/scripted way. He also sounds very effeminate and I think that grinds on me too.

It's essentially the same announcements just with a new, more annoying voice.

The current announcements are fine, and just need some slight tweaking to ensure station names are said correctly, and I don't want that annoying man on my Metro journeys. All the more reason to take the bus... At least that's reliable and doesn't fail at the slightest bit of sun or leaf fall.

Oh and before I forget, why is Central Station just called Central? The station name is Central Station not Central... And it isn't Central Newcastle either so I can't imagine the number of people getting confused with that one.

 

[Paul_10]

Managed to nab 4038 up to Gateshead tonight. Good god those announcements are horrible!

Oh and before I forget, why is Central Station just called Central? The station name is Central Station not Central... And it isn't Central Newcastle either so I can't imagine the number of people getting confused with that one.

No idea about that one either, are Nexus planning to get rid of "station" when they are going refurbish the station? I agree that it does sound a bit stuttering but at least South Gosforth is said in the proper way and I would imagine Four Lane Ends will sound better than it does now.

I think with the female voice, its exactly the same voice as the PA announcements to the doors closing one. I don't think it would confuse passengers really in all honesty but obviously with the refurbishments, it will get phased out anyways.

It does sound like a bad day for metro yesterday(felt like I was on a train that had some issues as it would jerk a bit as it was pulling away from stations) but I don't think the FB page helps itself by posting constant updates as it makes it sounds like there was more failed trains than perhaps they actually were.

If these failures were heat related then that is a concern because whilst yesterday was very warm, we can get hotter weather during summer so it needs to be sorted out for sure.

 

[tez thorn]

Does anyone know what order the metrocars are predicted to go in,i know its subject to change but surely they must have a predicted order,and nexus surely must know for definate which 2 arent getting refurbished along with 4001/2,but as said in a previous post,4055 must be due to go soon

 

[142094]

4051 looks to be going down to Wabtec today.

 

[tez thorn]

Definately 4051,if this is the case theres only 1 green one left which is 4036