Tyne & Wear Metro Fleet Replacement: Awarded to Stadler

[800Travel]

The delivery journey for the new fleet is as follows.
Journey begins from one of two locations, St Margrethen or Erlen. Regardless which the journey begins at, the first leg is to Konstanz on the Swiss/German border, hauled by a Swiss Electric loco. A delivery can see a unit from both locations, iirc this has happened twice. When that happens, the units are taken separately to Konstanz, once both units are there they are marshalled into one consist for the onward journey. When both units come from the same site in Switzerland they travel together the entire way and the re-marshalling at Konstanz is eliminated.
From Konstanz a RailAdventure diesel loco takes over, taking the delivery predominantly on secondary lines through South West Germany and Northern France to Frethun. From Frethun, a DB 92 takes the delivery through the Channel Tunnel to Dollands Moor where a DB 66 takes over and hauls the units as far as Wembley. The final leg from Wembley to the North East is hauled by a pair of RailAdventure HST power cars.

To reach Nexus infrastructure the delivery travels on the ECML to Gateshead and uses the lines avoiding Newcastle to reach Pelaw. From Pelaw the delivery turns onto the Jarrow oil terminal branch, which now shares track with Metro’s South Shields branch.
The HST power cars and the barrier wagons come off between Pelaw and Hebburn with an already delivered 555 attaching to the other end of the consist to take the new arrivals to Gosforth. The HST powercars go as far as Hebburn station as part of the shunt manouvers before returning to the mainline.

The old fleet is being removed from Howdon by road. The condemned Metrocar is dragged from Gosforth to Howdon via Whitley Bay by two operational Metrocars top and tail. Once at Howdon the condemned Metrocar is loaded straight onto road transport and leaves via the Tyne Tunnel.

Thank you very much - this is very comprehensive!

 

[Tramfan]

555005 on T121 today

 

[Steddenm]

At Chichester about 10 mins ago (09:00)
Image shows a Class 555 Metrocar at Chichester Station in South Shields

 

[Paul_10]

Any indication which diagram will be the next one to be 555 operated.

One encouraging thing I have noticed is that whilst there has been some reliability issues, most of the time it has not resulted in the 555 being replaced by metrocars so whatever faults there has been must be relatively minor.

 

[hacman]

Any indication which diagram will be the next one to be 555 operated.

One encouraging thing I have noticed is that whilst there has been some reliability issues, most of the time it has not resulted in the 555 being replaced by metrocars so whatever faults there has been must be relatively minor.

It's also worth remembering that in these early days, any fault worth investigating will result in the unit being taken back to the depot even if it could ordinarily be fixed in the field; Stadler will be investigating everything with an extra degree of thoroughness to iron out any final kinks.

The reliability of these units will only improve - like all electronic devices trains follow the "bathtub" curve.

Given that we have 4 555s cleared for passenger service now, and two more arrived this week for commissioning, things should start to ramp up from here.

 

[Paul_10]

It's also worth remembering that in these early days, any fault worth investigating will result in the unit being taken back to the depot even if it could ordinarily be fixed in the field; Stadler will be investigating everything with an extra degree of thoroughness to iron out any final kinks.

The reliability of these units will only improve - like all electronic devices trains follow the "bathtub" curve.

Given that we have 4 555s cleared for passenger service now, and two more arrived this week for commissioning, things should start to ramp up from here.

Maybe but the 4 that are avaliable from what I have been seeing online has been the most dominant. When was the last time 003 was out on the system? 004 is at the learning centre, is 013 still there?

001 has not been out on the system at alll during daylight hours at least it would seem and I don't think 026 has either although I might be wrong on that one?

It will take time but it is the most interesting period on an enthusiast point of view.

 

[ModernRailways]

Maybe but the 4 that are avaliable from what I have been seeing online has been the most dominant. When was the last time 003 was out on the system? 004 is at the learning centre, is 013 still there?

001 has not been out on the system at alll during daylight hours at least it would seem and I don't think 026 has either although I might be wrong on that one?

It will take time but it is the most interesting period on an enthusiast point of view.

020 and 021 were the main sets initially but with more sets ready to go it’ll be staged for new sets to enter revenue earning service as well as maintenance regimes starting to come into it.
There are two diagrams which are now 555 operated so having multiple sets to rotate between makes sense.

As a side note, it’s a shame this forum doesn’t allow for a pinned post that can be edited. Going forward the list done by @DanNCL would be good to see in an easy to access location without needing to dig around.

 

[Segedunum]

One encouraging thing I have noticed is that whilst there has been some reliability issues, most of the time it has not resulted in the 555 being replaced by metrocars so whatever faults there has been must be relatively minor.

It's usually either been pantograph carbon related (which continues to affect the whole fleet, old and new) or something which has cleared after a full reset (PIDs, cameras etc). As staff gain more experience they'll find quicker fixes for the latter, but a full reset is a pretty failsafe method for anything software-based at the minute.

 

[DanNCL]

List updated to reflect 555005 entering service.

Key:
Green - operational in passenger service
Blue - Delivered, under test.
Orange - Delivered, not yet seen on test
Red - Complete, not yet delivered
Purple - Delivered, in use for driver training
Grey - On assembly line at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland.

Notes:
Units stored in Switzerland are split between three known locations; Stadler's St Margrethen site, the SBB yard at St Margrethen, and Stadler's Erlen site.

555001 - delivered to Gosforth 19/04/2024. Tested at VUZ Velim, Czechia, during late 2022 and early 2023.
555002 - delivered to Gosforth 14/06/2024, entered service 21/02/2025. Tested at Arth Goldau, Switzerland, in Autumn 2022, and at VUZ Velim, Czechia, during late 2022 and early 2023.
555003 - first unit to be delivered to Gosforth, arrived 28/02/2023.
555004 - delivered to Gosforth 11/03/2023.
555005 - delivered to Gosforth 06/04/2023, entered service 25/02/2025.
555006 - delivered to Gosforth 13/09/2024.
555007 - delivered to Gosforth 13/09/2024.
555008 - delivered to Gosforth 21/02/2025.
555009 - delivered to Gosforth 21/02/2025.
555010 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555011 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555012 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555013 - delivered to Gosforth 16/12/2023.
555014 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555015 - delivered to Gosforth 16/12/2023.
555016 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555017 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555018 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555019 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555020 - delivered to Gosforth 19/04/2024, entered service 31/12/2024
555021 - delivered to Gosforth 14/06/2024, first unit to enter service 18/12/2024
555022 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555023 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555024 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555025 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555026 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555027 - delivered to Gosforth 25/10/2024.
555028 - delivered to Gosforth 25/10/2024.
555029 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555030 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555031 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555032 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555033 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555034 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555035 - complete, stored in Switzerland. Spotted in the background of a Stadler press photo for an ÖBB order.
555036 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555037 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555038 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555039 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555040 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555041 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555042 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555043 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555044 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555045 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555046 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland

Maybe but the 4 that are avaliable from what I have been seeing online has been the most dominant. When was the last time 003 was out on the system? 004 is at the learning centre, is 013 still there?

001 has not been out on the system at alll during daylight hours at least it would seem and I don't think 026 has either although I might be wrong on that one?

It will take time but it is the most interesting period on an enthusiast point of view.

020 and 021 were the main sets initially but with more sets ready to go it’ll be staged for new sets to enter revenue earning service as well as maintenance regimes starting to come into it.
There are two diagrams which are now 555 operated so having multiple sets to rotate between makes sense.

As a side note, it’s a shame this forum doesn’t allow for a pinned post that can be edited. Going forward the list done by @DanNCL would be good to see in an easy to access location without needing to dig around.

026 is still in Switzerland, I had incorrectly marked it as delivered instead of 028 in an earlier version of the list but that’s been corrected in the latest few revisions. 001, 008 and 009 are the only delivered units that haven’t done a daytime test run on Nexus metals.
From what I can see, 003, 013 and 015 would be the logical next units into service.

I agree about the list. It works well having it in the opening post in the Metrocar withdrawal thread but I can’t do that here as I’m not the OP for this thread.

 

[Wallsendmag]

The old fleet is being removed from Howdon by road. The condemned Metrocar is dragged from Gosforth to Howdon via Whitley Bay by two operational Metrocars top and tail. Once at Howdon the condemned Metrocar is loaded straight onto road transport and leaves via the Tyne Tunnel.

Makes sense as Howden is next to the tip lol

 

[HfdNcl]

List updated to reflect 555005 entering service.

Key:
Green - operational in passenger service
Blue - Delivered, under test.
Orange - Delivered, not yet seen on test
Red - Complete, not yet delivered
Purple - Delivered, in use for driver training
Grey - On assembly line at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland.

Notes:
Units stored in Switzerland are split between three known locations; Stadler's St Margrethen site, the SBB yard at St Margrethen, and Stadler's Erlen site.

555001 - delivered to Gosforth 19/04/2024. Tested at VUZ Velim, Czechia, during late 2022 and early 2023.
555002 - delivered to Gosforth 14/06/2024, entered service 21/02/2025. Tested at Arth Goldau, Switzerland, in Autumn 2022, and at VUZ Velim, Czechia, during late 2022 and early 2023.
555003 - first unit to be delivered to Gosforth, arrived 28/02/2023.
555004 - delivered to Gosforth 11/03/2023.
555005 - delivered to Gosforth 06/04/2023, entered service 25/02/2025.
555006 - delivered to Gosforth 13/09/2024.
555007 - delivered to Gosforth 13/09/2024.
555008 - delivered to Gosforth 21/02/2025.
555009 - delivered to Gosforth 21/02/2025.
555010 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555011 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555012 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555013 - delivered to Gosforth 16/12/2023.
555014 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555015 - delivered to Gosforth 16/12/2023.
555016 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555017 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555018 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555019 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555020 - delivered to Gosforth 19/04/2024, entered service 31/12/2024
555021 - delivered to Gosforth 14/06/2024, first unit to enter service 18/12/2024
555022 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555023 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555024 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555025 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555026 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555027 - delivered to Gosforth 25/10/2024.
555028 - delivered to Gosforth 25/10/2024.
555029 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555030 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555031 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555032 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555033 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555034 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555035 - complete, stored in Switzerland. Spotted in the background of a Stadler press photo for an ÖBB order.
555036 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555037 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555038 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555039 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555040 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555041 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555042 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555043 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555044 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555045 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555046 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland



026 is still in Switzerland, I had incorrectly marked it as delivered instead of 028 in an earlier version of the list but that’s been corrected in the latest few revisions. 001, 008 and 009 are the only delivered units that haven’t done a daytime test run on Nexus metals.
From what I can see, 003, 013 and 015 would be the logical next units into service.

I agree about the list. It works well having it in the opening post in the Metrocar withdrawal thread but I can’t do that here as I’m not the OP for this thread.

003/004 are the next units to enter service.

 

[MetroTyler]

Anyone know what's going on with 555020? It was seen completely off with engineers working at Pelaw Sidings on it on the 20th of February and, to my knowledge, has not been seen running since.

 

[Segedunum]

Anyone know what's going on with 555020? It was seen completely off with engineers working at Pelaw Sidings on it on the 20th of February and, to my knowledge, has not been seen running since.

Caused several OHLE trips that morning so it spent quite a while in the siding to allow various investigations to take place. Seeing as more units are now cleared for passenger use there's less of a need to rush it straight back out and a better chance to properly look into what's up with it.

 

[Tramfan]

Maybe but the 4 that are avaliable from what I have been seeing online has been the most dominant. When was the last time 003 was out on the system? 004 is at the learning centre, is 013 still there?

001 has not been out on the system at alll during daylight hours at least it would seem and I don't think 026 has either although I might be wrong on that one?

It will take time but it is the most interesting period on an enthusiast point of view.

004 was out on the system on normal driver training today, 015 was the one at NLC as of last week

 

[DanNCL]

Both 555 diagrams have Metrocars allocated at present.

 

[hopperelec]

Just to add: Both diagrams were 555s earlier this morning. T121 was 555021, not sure what was on T102. T102 got pulled at Airport at about 6:20 AM (looks like this is what caused the delays on the green line this morning), and was replaced at South Gosforth at 8:08 AM. T121 got pulled at Gateshead at about 9:20 AM and replaced at South Gosforth at 9:36. T102 seems to have been on and off all morning, so I think whatever replaced it the first time also got pulled.

 

[MetroTyler]

Can confirm 121 was 555021 until about 9AM.

 

[Paul_10]

Interesting neither 555 diagram was replaced by another 555. Wonder if both suffered different faults or one had a serious fault which meant the other had to be withdrawn due to a pre caution?

Not what we want too see and it does feel like it's shades of what the 777s have been through in terms of reliability. As more 555s come into play and if these issues continue it will get more attention for sure.

 

[HfdNcl]

Just to add: Both diagrams were 555s earlier this morning. T121 was 555021, not sure what was on T102. T102 got pulled at Airport at about 6:20 AM (looks like this is what caused the delays on the green line this morning), and was replaced at South Gosforth at 8:08 AM. T121 got pulled at Gateshead at about 9:20 AM and replaced at South Gosforth at 9:36. T102 seems to have been on and off all morning, so I think whatever replaced it the first time also got pulled.

555002 was on T102 initially. 555020 is operating it now.

 

[DanNCL]

555004 reported to have entered service this afternoon on T123.

 

[Paul_10]

555004 reported to have entered service this afternoon on T123.

Is 123 a diagram that ends early or one that lasts until the end of service.

 

[DanNCL]

Is 123 a diagram that ends early or one that lasts until the end of service.

End of service though a set swap can’t be ruled out.

 

[notverydeep]

For anyone on this thread who’s a fan of the Nebula / YouTube channel ‘Jetlag the Game’ - a presumably newly completed 555 makes a brief cameo appearance in the latest episode (which will be on YouTube next week) adjacent to the exit of St. Margrathen station in Switzerland (presumably in a head shunt from the Stadler factory) as the two protagonists make their way to Höchst just across the nearby Austrian border to complete a challenge.

I wasn’t able to confirm the unit number…

 

[Segedunum]

555003 has entered service on 102 today.

 

[Peter Sarf]

555003 has entered service on 102 today.

So that will make it 5 of the 555s now available for service.

Quoted @DanNCL 's post with the list in so people can find it easier than I did !.

List updated to reflect 555005 entering service.

Key:
Green - operational in passenger service
Blue - Delivered, under test.
Orange - Delivered, not yet seen on test
Red - Complete, not yet delivered
Purple - Delivered, in use for driver training
Grey - On assembly line at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland.

Notes:
Units stored in Switzerland are split between three known locations; Stadler's St Margrethen site, the SBB yard at St Margrethen, and Stadler's Erlen site.

555001 - delivered to Gosforth 19/04/2024. Tested at VUZ Velim, Czechia, during late 2022 and early 2023.
555002 - delivered to Gosforth 14/06/2024, entered service 21/02/2025. Tested at Arth Goldau, Switzerland, in Autumn 2022, and at VUZ Velim, Czechia, during late 2022 and early 2023.
555003 - first unit to be delivered to Gosforth, arrived 28/02/2023.
555004 - delivered to Gosforth 11/03/2023.
555005 - delivered to Gosforth 06/04/2023, entered service 25/02/2025.
555006 - delivered to Gosforth 13/09/2024.
555007 - delivered to Gosforth 13/09/2024.
555008 - delivered to Gosforth 21/02/2025.
555009 - delivered to Gosforth 21/02/2025.
555010 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555011 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555012 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555013 - delivered to Gosforth 16/12/2023.
555014 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555015 - delivered to Gosforth 16/12/2023.
555016 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555017 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555018 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555019 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555020 - delivered to Gosforth 19/04/2024, entered service 31/12/2024
555021 - delivered to Gosforth 14/06/2024, first unit to enter service 18/12/2024
555022 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555023 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555024 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555025 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555026 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555027 - delivered to Gosforth 25/10/2024.
555028 - delivered to Gosforth 25/10/2024.
555029 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555030 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555031 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555032 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555033 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555034 - complete, stored in Switzerland
555035 - complete, stored in Switzerland. Spotted in the background of a Stadler press photo for an ÖBB order.
555036 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555037 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555038 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555039 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555040 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555041 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555042 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555043 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555044 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555045 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland
555046 - under construction at Stadler Rheintal, St Margrethen, Switzerland



026 is still in Switzerland, I had incorrectly marked it as delivered instead of 028 in an earlier version of the list but that’s been corrected in the latest few revisions. 001, 008 and 009 are the only delivered units that haven’t done a daytime test run on Nexus metals.
From what I can see, 003, 013 and 015 would be the logical next units into service.

I agree about the list. It works well having it in the opening post in the Metrocar withdrawal thread but I can’t do that here as I’m not the OP for this thread.

555003 has entered service on 102 today.

 

[HfdNcl]

So that will make it 5 of the 555s now available for service.

Quoted @DanNCL 's post with the list in so people can find it easier than I did !.

6 555s have operated in Service.
002,003,004,005,020,021.

555010 and 555011 are next to be delivered to Gosforth, during the second week of April.

 

[danpick]

555001 has now started to be used on tests on the network, having been in the depot since its arrival 11 months ago.

 

[Segedunum]

Indeed 555001 is on 189 today, which is the Kilometre Accumulation path.

Everything else is off kilter today due to OHLE damage near Pelaw.

 

[inais20]

Any idea what happened to the OHLE? Caused chaos for the people at work today.

 

[Segedunum]

Any idea what happened to the OHLE? Caused chaos for the people at work today.

A piece of it ended up coming off and was on the roof of a train - caused the OHLE to trip and stranded said train mid-section which required emergency evacuation.

It was quite a complex operation to get the overhead line examined, isolated and repaired before rescuing the stricken train. Service has just resumed in the past 15 minutes or so, so everything (including 555 diagrams) should be back to usual tomorrow.