Tyne & Wear Metro: Fleet Refurbishment List

[MetroCar4058]

Quite funny though, as it seemed to lose it's TSR on Monday, but then the 20km/h TSR at Jesmond was put in.

Manors loop? Do you mean Manors curve towards Jesmond? If so, I believe it's because they are using it for the weekend engineering works. I believe there are a few machines being stored down there.

Oh yes the curve, sorry. No they had it closed yesterday with 'Stop' signs and warning lights, a team of engineers, at least 6 were down there doing some work. It is open even when the equipment is there.

 

[Scott M]

Had to get a taxi on thursday because my metro didn't turn up - cost me £25

System currently borderline not good enough - MP getting involved - and it's only gonna get worse as no new trains for years now. Something has gotta give
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Aaand just as I post that a train is withdrawn from service on the green line, causing delays of 30 mins.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Metro will be fine. No one is denying we have had some issues, give it 8 months and we will see high 80s back on the OTP board. I will always believe when we get back to a full complement our performance will be good. Its a shame that we have had some major issues of late but they are not all Metro nor the trains fault. For example, electrical failures, points (I believe) at Sunderland towards Park Lane and Durham Coast Lines were not Nexus fault. We have allot of work to do, but with the passengers and a bit of time the Metro will be back to its glory.

There are always gonna be faults, and one off issues such as the gearbox failure, but we will get there and we should make it until 2022, I'm not denying it will be tight mind. Doesn't help that thugs cause 30 minute delays as per today towards Airport. We must remember that some faults are due to the public abusing the MetroCars, throwing stuff at them or holding the doors. Door holders are the burden of my life as everyone who is a regular will know. Hold the doors? Moan about the trains being took out of service due to door fault? Eugh!

 

[ModernRailways]

Had to get a taxi on thursday because my metro didn't turn up - cost me £25

System currently borderline not good enough - MP getting involved - and it's only gonna get worse as no new trains for years now. Something has gotta give
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Aaand just as I post that a train is withdrawn from service on the green line, causing delays of 30 mins.

you had to get a taxi because you're train didn't show? Couldn't you have waited 12-15 minutes for the next one? Or did you travel in the early morning (first/second train of the day)?

New trains are needed, and no-one is denying that. Metro themselves know they need new trains. Funding is the problem, moreso when they decided to refurb the current fleet. The Government wouldn't be happy spending millions on refurbishing trains to then have to spend more millions on getting new trains altogether.

Metro will be fine. No one is denying we have had some issues, give it 8 months and we will see high 80s back on the OTP board. I will always believe when we get back to a full complement our performance will be good. Its a shame that we have had some major issues of late but they are not all Metro nor the trains fault. For example, electrical failures, points (I believe) at Sunderland towards Park Lane and Durham Coast Lines were not Nexus fault. We have allot of work to do, but with the passengers and a bit of time the Metro will be back to its glory.

There are always gonna be faults, and one off issues such as the gearbox failure, but we will get there and we should make it until 2022, I'm not denying it will be tight mind. Doesn't help that thugs cause 30 minute delays as per today towards Airport. We must remember that some faults are due to the public abusing the MetroCars, throwing stuff at them or holding the doors. Door holders are the burden of my life as everyone who is a regular will know. Hold the doors? Moan about the trains being took out of service due to door fault? Eugh!

I think we'll be hovering around the 70-80% mark for a few years now - possibly till we see a new fleet. In 8 months, we'll be back into Autumn and in leaf fall too, so the score will likely go down.

The problem is, these one-off issues are happening far too frequently now. Usually we start to see the trains on time% starts to rise after Autumn, but this year we haven't seen that. What's most odd, is that Sharon Kelly has just taken charge too a month or two back, so far she is doing an absolutely terrible job (I've never liked her anyway). These are the worst delay stats we've had for quite some time IIRC and to me I don't think we'll be seeing any significant improvement. And to be fair to Metro a lot of recent problems have actually been down to Nexus.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Yeah maybe not 8 month then, lets say summer. Lets face it our punctuality is much better in the summer and the winter is always tough. I totally agree with you mind, this year we have had far too many one off failures at a time when our punctuality is usually recovering.

As you say, with the refurbishment we are stuck with our MetroCars, which to be honest I will be sad to see leave. Maintenance should improve when we have a full complement which may improve our performance.

 

[Scott M]

Metro will be fine. No one is denying we have had some issues, give it 8 months and we will see high 80s back on the OTP board. I will always believe when we get back to a full complement our performance will be good. Its a shame that we have had some major issues of late but they are not all Metro nor the trains fault. For example, electrical failures, points (I believe) at Sunderland towards Park Lane and Durham Coast Lines were not Nexus fault. We have allot of work to do, but with the passengers and a bit of time the Metro will be back to its glory.

There are always gonna be faults, and one off issues such as the gearbox failure, but we will get there and we should make it until 2022, I'm not denying it will be tight mind. Doesn't help that thugs cause 30 minute delays as per today towards Airport. We must remember that some faults are due to the public abusing the MetroCars, throwing stuff at them or holding the doors. Door holders are the burden of my life as everyone who is a regular will know. Hold the doors? Moan about the trains being took out of service due to door fault? Eugh!

Three train withdrawals before 10am today doesn't look like a system that will be back to 80% within 8 months. :/ And yes I agree some faults are due to the public, but let's be honest most aren't.

you had to get a taxi because you're train didn't show? Couldn't you have waited 12-15 minutes for the next one? Or did you travel in the early morning (first/second train of the day)?

New trains are needed, and no-one is denying that. Metro themselves know they need new trains. Funding is the problem, moreso when they decided to refurb the current fleet. The Government wouldn't be happy spending millions on refurbishing trains to then have to spend more millions on getting new trains altogether.

The 8:59 at platform 2 Tyne Dock (the one I need) was 6 minutes away from plaform 1 at 8:59. So I would have had to wait for it to come to Tyne Dock, go to South Shields, then come back up to Tyne Dock. = More than 12-15 minute delay

And I had a patient in at 10. So just couldn't wait for that long of a delay

 

[ModernRailways]

The 8:59 at platform 2 Tyne Dock (the one I need) was 6 minutes away from plaform 1 at 8:59. So I would have had to wait for it to come to Tyne Dock, go to South Shields, then come back up to Tyne Dock. = More than 12-15 minute delay

And I had a patient in at 10. So just couldn't wait for that long of a delay

Perfectly possible that there was a train at South Shields, that may have just not registered yet onto the boards or was still in South Shields. Although, as you say it may have meant a long wait for you and missing your appointment. Make sure to claim for your Metro ticket and try and claim for your taxi fare too!

 

[Scott M]

Perfectly possible that there was a train at South Shields, that may have just not registered yet onto the boards or was still in South Shields. Although, as you say it may have meant a long wait for you and missing your appointment. Make sure to claim for your Metro ticket and try and claim for your taxi fare too!

That does sometimes happen but from Shields-Tyne Dock is 3m, and I waited for that platform 1 train to get to Due (so waited 6 mins) and still no train showed up on platform 2 and nothing on the board, so I decided to cut my losses.

Is claiming taxi fares a thing? I'll try but I have a feeling they'll only refund my metro ticket.

Edit: forgot to get a receipt from the taxi. :x

 

[MetroCar4058]

Is claiming taxi fares a thing? I'll try but I have a feeling they'll only refund my metro ticket.

Edit: forgot to get a receipt from the taxi. :x

Wouldn't worry - they will only refund the ticket and not any other losses.

 

[ModernRailways]

That does sometimes happen but from Shields-Tyne Dock is 3m, and I waited for that platform 1 train to get to Due (so waited 6 mins) and still no train showed up on platform 2 and nothing on the board, so I decided to cut my losses.

Is claiming taxi fares a thing? I'll try but I have a feeling they'll only refund my metro ticket.

Edit: forgot to get a receipt from the taxi. :x

As long as the fare is relatively reasonable (so £10-£15 to Newcastle). then they will likely be fine with it.

Wouldn't worry - they will only refund the ticket and not any other losses.

They refunded me for a Taxi. £25 from Jarrow to Airport - think the actual fare was £26.50.

 

[Scott M]

As long as the fare is relatively reasonable (so £10-£15 to Newcastle). then they will likely be fine with it.



They refunded me for a Taxi. £25 from Jarrow to Airport - think the actual fare was £26.50.

I should have got a receipt!

Another train withdrawn from service today. Is it normal for light rail to have trains withdrawn from service each day? Does the LU have similar problems?

Also a guy said on one of their facebook posts that a lot of the trains are withdrawn from service because they don't have enough drivers, due to them sacking lots of drivers recently. Any truth in this? And if there is, why were they sacked?

 

[ModernRailways]

I should have got a receipt!

Another train withdrawn from service today. Is it normal for light rail to have trains withdrawn from service each day? Does the LU have similar problems?

Also a guy said on one of their facebook posts that a lot of the trains are withdrawn from service because they don't have enough drivers, due to them sacking lots of drivers recently. Any truth in this? And if there is, why were they sacked?

Try and get one without a receipt. They may say No, but worth a try at least.

Bear in mind trains are withdrawn for various reasons. A fault can take a train out of service, a driver being late/not turning up can take a train out of service, or a delay on another train can take a train out of service and then swap services around (so the train is not being removed from service, but is being turned at an earlier station because of another train running late). Any transport system has these problems. LUL have these problems on a daily basis, but often the delay isn't significant like it is up here - they have the same policy of only report a delay of more than 15 minutes. Trains are more frequent down there so you're less likely to hear about it. At worst you may have to wait for 10 minutes. The only time when a failed train will cause a longer disruption other than waiting for the next train is when the train has completely failed (similar to our Felling incident the other week). I think part of the problem is Metro are too open about delays, especially when you consider the fact that trains run every 12 minutes anyway so just one train being removed from service is enough to trigger a disruption alert.

I only think there have been two drivers sacked. It just so happens that since the Metro started a lot of the drivers have remained and now they're reaching their retiring age (a lot already worked for BR) and as Metro haven't been proactive in getting new drivers it's meant a shortage at times (we are supposed to have two spare drivers, but from what I've heard they are pretty much guaranteed work). They did just hire around 30-40 new drivers and some are in training now, I believe some should be out on the system now and ready to drive alone in March/April.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Try and get one without a receipt. They may say No, but worth a try at least.

Bear in mind trains are withdrawn for various reasons. A fault can take a train out of service, a driver being late/not turning up can take a train out of service, or a delay on another train can take a train out of service and then swap services around (so the train is not being removed from service, but is being turned at an earlier station because of another train running late). Any transport system has these problems. LUL have these problems on a daily basis, but often the delay isn't significant like it is up here - they have the same policy of only report a delay of more than 15 minutes. Trains are more frequent down there so you're less likely to hear about it. At worst you may have to wait for 10 minutes. The only time when a failed train will cause a longer disruption other than waiting for the next train is when the train has completely failed (similar to our Felling incident the other week). I think part of the problem is Metro are too open about delays, especially when you consider the fact that trains run every 12 minutes anyway so just one train being removed from service is enough to trigger a disruption alert.

I only think there have been two drivers sacked. It just so happens that since the Metro started a lot of the drivers have remained and now they're reaching their retiring age (a lot already worked for BR) and as Metro haven't been proactive in getting new drivers it's meant a shortage at times (we are supposed to have two spare drivers, but from what I've heard they are pretty much guaranteed work). They did just hire around 30-40 new drivers and some are in training now, I believe some should be out on the system now and ready to drive alone in March/April.

Talking of new staff, I was on two trains this week which had drivers under instruction. So yeah its a short term issue. I agree with you about the delays, do we really need to know if one train has been took out of service, If anything it should be a platform announcement as the people it effects are likely to already be at the station (assuming a replacement is sourced)

 

[ModernRailways]

Talking of new staff, I was on two trains this week which had drivers under instruction. So yeah its a short term issue. I agree with you about the delays, do we really need to know if one train has been took out of service, If anything it should be a platform announcement as the people it effects are likely to already be at the station (assuming a replacement is sourced)

Driver under instruction can just mean the driver is being given their yearly checkup. But it is likely to have been a new driver.

I think their process is:
Delay under 15 minutes - announcement only
Delay 15 - 30 minutes - announcement, platform boards, and Social Media (Minor Delay).
Delay 30+ minutes - announcement every 3 minutes (first PA recorded and replayed), platform boards, and Social Media (Major Delays).

 

[inais20]

Anyone know what's going on with this page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexus-Tyne-Wear-Metro/206160346097479

From the way it's written it appears to be written by a bored teenager but is still passing itself off as an official page?

 

[ModernRailways]

Anyone know what's going on with this page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexus-Tyne-Wear-Metro/206160346097479

From the way it's written it appears to be written by a bored teenager but is still passing itself off as an official page?

Yeah, I saw that the other day. Posting rubbish about new trains and other modernisation things. I doubt Metro/Nexus would do anything.

 

[Kryten2340]

Does anyone know why they have 'over done it' with ballast at Jesmond? Especially alongside platform 2.

 

[ModernRailways]

Does anyone know why they have 'over done it' with ballast at Jesmond? Especially alongside platform 2.

I was thinking this myself. Looks like they had a train full and just thought 'F*** it, dump it all.'

If it's a simple case of they ordered too much, then this needs something further since it looks like they've used double the amount actually needed (so essentially double the cost, if so).

I seem to remember hearing that too much ballast was just as dangerous as too little ballast too so it is potentially dangerous (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong though).

 

[Kryten2340]

I was thinking this myself. Looks like they had a train full and just thought 'F*** it, dump it all.'

If it's a simple case of they ordered too much, then this needs something further since it looks like they've used double the amount actually needed (so essentially double the cost, if so).

I seem to remember hearing that too much ballast was just as dangerous as too little ballast too so it is potentially dangerous (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong though).

I'll grab a pic next time I'm passing through. From what I can see it's not far off the top of the rail. Is there any equipment underneath the the cars that could potentially pick the excess ballast up?

 

[ModernRailways]

I'll grab a pic next time I'm passing through. From what I can see it's not far off the top of the rail. Is there any equipment underneath the the cars that could potentially pick the excess ballast up?

I think it's just low enough not to be hitting the underside of the train - bear in mind trains go across level crossings with about 20cm clearance underneath (and the level crossing surface is usually level with the rail head). However, trains going across the top means the ballast will over time loosen up. They do still have work to do at night so it will be interesting to see if it is left as is or is sorted.

 

[142094]

Problem with one of the signals on the approach to Gateshead tonight, so everything going south delayed for a while.

 

[Kryten2340]

I think it's just low enough not to be hitting the underside of the train - bear in mind trains go across level crossings with about 20cm clearance underneath (and the level crossing surface is usually level with the rail head). However, trains going across the top means the ballast will over time loosen up. They do still have work to do at night so it will be interesting to see if it is left as is or is sorted.

Pic as promised taken at tea time.

 

[ModernRailways]

Pic as promised taken at tea time.

*snipped photo*

It's definitely high, but not high enough to affect trains passing over.

As I said, I'm not sure if it's too high and could cause a shorter track life span, and/or further issues with the signalling cables etc. But I highly doubt it will cause any problems/damage to the actual trains themselves.

Just have to see if someone from Nexus/Metro replies or if one of the other forum members can enlighten us.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Interesting to see today that Osborne was up here and met with Nexus to discuss the 3rd part of All Change, which is mostly the rolling stock. I doubt we will get anything as good as the MetroCar but lets hope they keep the front view seat (highly doubt it)

http://www.nexus.org.uk/news/item/metro-bosses-welcome-chancellor’s-support-new-trains

Of course, this is just election talk and nothing has been confirmed nor submitted yet.

 

[Scott M]

Interesting to see today that Osborne was up here and met with Nexus to discuss the 3rd part of All Change, which is mostly the rolling stock. I doubt we will get anything as good as the MetroCar but lets hope they keep the front view seat (highly doubt it)

http://www.nexus.org.uk/news/item/metro-bosses-welcome-chancellor’s-support-new-trains

Of course, this is just election talk and nothing has been confirmed nor submitted yet.

That new metro design looks badass.

Interesting that they have gone with white instead of black. I prefer white, looks more modern!

 

[ModernRailways]

That new metro design looks badass.

Interesting that they have gone with white instead of black. I prefer white, looks more modern!

That design has been circulating since 2006/2007. I believe it was one of the mock refurb plans.

 

[Paul_10]

That design has been circulating since 2006/2007. I believe it was one of the mock refurb plans.

It looks but not exactly the same as the mock refurbishment plan for the current refurbishments with a different front end and livery but in the end, the front end is the same design and the livery is now Black/Grey instead of white which is the right choice really considering white will be hard to maintain to keep clean.

 

[ModernRailways]

It looks but not exactly the same as the mock refurbishment plan for the current refurbishments with a different front end and livery but in the end, the front end is the same design and the livery is now Black/Grey instead of white which is the right choice really considering white will be hard to maintain to keep clean.

It's the same image that I saw but flipped. There was two or three images I saw. There is one on Google which is similar and was one of the mock plans. But there were a few mocks sown in TWITA meetings. The white was simply because they didn't want to reveal the full, final livery from what I gathered.

 

[hacman]

It's the same image that I saw but flipped. There was two or three images I saw. There is one on Google which is similar and was one of the mock plans. But there were a few mocks sown in TWITA meetings. The white was simply because they didn't want to reveal the full, final livery from what I gathered.

Another interesting set of images along these lines come from DG8 who I deal with at work.

They had been approached by one of the bidders prior to DB being awarded the contract to provide some renders:

http://dg8design.com/metro.html

Interesting to see what may have been...

Jon

 

[08818]

hi would it be possible for someone to put a updated fleet status in the next week as i will be returning to the north east next week to try and get my missing 9 from last year . .

t.i.a gaz .