New trains are coming to the Tyne and Wear Metro – and a new depot is needed to maintain them. In January 2020 Nexus awarded Stadler a contract to build the new Metro fleet, and as well as maintenance of both the outgoing and new trains this included the requirement to rebuild the depot at Gosforth.
Stadler is supplying 46 Metro trains, which are of five-car formation and powered by the Metro’s 1,500V DC overhead system. The first bodyshells have been completed at Stadler’s St Margrethen plant in Switzerland, and the first train is due to be delivered by rail to Newcastle in November 2022. Following testing, commissioning and training, the trains are due to start carrying passengers in mid-2023.
The 12-acre depot site is located at the apex of the junction between the lines towards the Airport and the Coast, to the north of South Gosforth station. Operationally it is ideally sited, so it made sense to retain the existing site. But the current depot was originally built for the London and North Eastern Railway in October 1923 and is thus not well suited to modern operations.
Stadler appointed VolkerFitzpatrick to carry out the £70 million rebuild. The new depot will feature inspection roads and pits, c…
