Yellow livery: Nexus has confirmed this colour scheme for the new trains Stadler will build for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Stadler took over maintenance of the Tyne and Wear Metro fleet from Nexus on 4 October as part of a 35-year servicing and maintenance contract which will in future cover the new fleet the manufacturer will build. The change saw 120 staff from Nexus transfer to Stadler, which has taken over the Metro depot at Gosforth. As part of the new trains contract, awarded to Stadler by Nexus in January, a new depot is to be built on the site of the existing facility, with construction starting later this year. The Department for Transport will provide revenue support to Nexus to help meet the maintenance costs of the new trains.
Stadler will supply 42 new trains for the Metro, which will enter service from 2023. It is expected the order will be increased to 46 trains once promised funding for the Metro Flow scheme is in place, allowing a network-wide frequency increase.
