Tyne & Wear Metro: Fleet Refurbishment List

[MetroCar4058]

Talking of new parts, I can't remember which units they were but I saw a couple of them with a new yellow circular thing on the wheels (very specific there lol) I wonder what they were :P

 

[ModernRailways]

Then male announcer is back he's more refined and has a lesser variation in tone, oh no unit 4016

I noticed he was on 4074 too. I had a mixture this morning. The nice woman was announcing heading into work, but on the return I bagged the same train and it was the annoying pr**k doing the announcements. I ended up bailing at Monument instead of bailing at Heworth which is where I do normally.

One thing that really annoys me is the inconsistency, some stations say 'The next station is...' and others say 'Next Station...' And when it doesn't have the word 'The' at the start it just sounds odd. He's too human sounding, which doesn't lend well to announcements when you're mashing different clips together. A more robotic, or flat tone is a lot better because you don't have a change in pitch that is just completely stupid. For example, Regent Centre he goes 'The next station is' (high pitch) 'Regent Centre' (really high pitch). And whilst having a change in pitch can work, his doesn't because it doesn't blend well.

Whoever at Nexus decided it would be good to spend more money on him is a complete and utter moron. The women is fine, the announcements do not need changed and it is an unneccesary expense. And when Nexus (and Metro) keep blabbing on about how they have no money maybe they should look at these vanity projects which are complete wastes of time and money. Plus the fact that he does the voiceover for a ton of advertisements on the TV, and Radio and one of those adverts is advertising a taxi firm as the quickest and most reliable way to get around Tyneside. A pre-recorded train announcer should be a specialist voice artist who only does things for certain companies and shouldn't be just your most popular local voice artist. Aren't London Undergrounds done by some women who lives elsewhere (I think it's maybe Australia)?

I blame him for Metro delays, since they've only gotten really bad since he started getting himself around the system.

Anyway, rant over... yeah okay I lied


Delays - Getting more and more ridiculous. This past 2 (maybe even encroaching 3 now) months I have been late getting home a grand total of every single day and it's purely down to the fact Metros have been delayed. Getting into work is mostly fine with no problems. I'm sure the track is faulty going up towards Airport from Regent Centre too as the ride quality is a disgrace.

Manual Announcements - Dare I say it, but they seem to be getting much much better. Just last night, my train home had the power trip, and the first thing the driver did was let us know that there was a problem with the train and he would have to contact control and then carry out an inspection of the outside of the train. He then made another full announcement apologising for the delay, briefly explaining what appeared to have happened and apologising again. Drivers on the whole seem to have started speaking more when we've been held, so hopefully it's (going to) become a thing!

Destination Boards - Do they ever work properly? Monument has gained a brand new time travel facility. A South Shields train was 13 minutes, and the South Hylton was 14 minutes (delays...). They both count down and the South Hylton train then jumps in front of the South Shields train when they are both sitting on 11 minutes. The, as if by magic about 2 minutes later, the South Shields is 2 minutes, and the South Hylton is 4 minutes. And the 'Please stand away from the platform edge' is quite funny since it's only appeared recently when the station is busier because delays are too common meaning more people are standing around waiting for a train to eventually show up.

Anyhow, I'll shut up now and let's hope next Sunday goes relatively all right for them!

 

[MetroCar4058]

Talking of 4016 do you think they've changed him to try and make him sound more normal? Honestly his announcements are utter **** the Monument one is confusing ' Next station is Monument change here for trains to Whitley Bay via Wallsend, St James and local bus services' Seriously? Does the train terminate at Whitley Bay? Where do i go? Same platform? I have regular Metro user friends who wouldn't know the platform to go to nevermind tourist, now don't even get me started on 'Central', Bafoons! It also makes the network maps and boards invalid as the Coast is not mentioned on the announcements, I did complain to the gate guard at Gateshead and she said she would file a complaint. I think I will send a massive email to Nexus as they are ignoring the passengers, a majority of which dislike the move, even the police were getting fed up of him!

Rail adhesion is also a micky take, up my end towards Airport you don't get any decent traction until you cross Fawdon level crossing, and everywhere before that is just slip slip slip and slow slow slow! Pull the finger out Nexus and sack the Low Rail Adhesion Manager.

The female announcer is clear and helpful, the bloke makes me want to put the trains windows through! Pathetic move.

My rant is also now over lol

Regarding your train fault yesterday, that and the Sunderland match must have contributed to some hefty delays, I waited 20 minutes for any train towards Gateshead at Monument and then waited 25 minutes for an Airport train.

Still love my Metro though!

 

[ModernRailways]

Rail adhesion is also a micky take, up my end towards Airport you don't get any decent traction until you cross Fawdon level crossing, and everywhere before that is just slip slip slip and slow slow slow! Pull the finger out Nexus and sack the Low Rail Adhesion Manager.

That's exactly the same thing I'm describing. I'm not sure if it is LRA, or whether it's just poor track quality? I've noticed it seems more prominent on the refurbs, but that's more likely because I've had more refurbs than unrefurbs up there so it makes for an unfair comparison. It definitely needs looked into though.

The female announcer is clear and helpful, the bloke makes me want to put the trains windows through! Pathetic move.

Yes! Exactly my point. I do remember a lot of people asking for a local dialect to be put in when she was first introduced, but everyone seems to be happy with her now, with the odd exception of stations being pronounced too correctly, South Gosforth was one of the main problem ones I believe.

Most interesting for me is how 'NexusComms' and Huw Lewis only seem to come on here when they can actually shoot a post by someone down. And obviously that's only every once in a blue moon. It would be nice if they started checking back in and actually engaging with us - good customer service? And essentially means it's a good way for them to keep us up to date instead of posting about rumours we've heard and let's them be more open. Also, most of us tend to be a lot more understanding than people on the likes of Metros FB page whereby people just tend to moan for the sake of moaning.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Most interesting for me is how 'NexusComms' and Huw Lewis only seem to come on here when they can actually shoot a post by someone down. And obviously that's only every once in a blue moon. It would be nice if they started checking back in and actually engaging with us - good customer service? And essentially means it's a good way for them to keep us up to date instead of posting about rumours we've heard and let's them be more open. Also, most of us tend to be a lot more understanding than people on the likes of Metros FB page whereby people just tend to moan for the sake of moaning.

Unlike a lot of people on FB we are passionate about our Metro, and aren't out to be malicious, we just want it to be the best It can be

Could see where you are coming from with the quality of the tracks as there is never any issues on the out line to Airport whereas the in to South Hylton is awful, LRA probably is a little factor though as in the summer it was great, flying past Tesco at 80kmh when the unit is about 80c inside

I think one thing I'll give Nexus is how well the gates work for Metro, they seem to be earning their keep and they just look good, I mean there are a few at the stations that are forever broken but apart from that they are a real success story!

 

[maplins]

4044 and 4016 were taken out of service at South Gosforth this afternoon due to the train "developing a fault", according to the driver's announcement. A replacement was waiting in the sidings.

 

[ModernRailways]

The gates are certainly starting to work well after a terrible start.

Validator reliability however is something they should be ashamed of now,. At the stations I use, almost always 1 validator per platform is Out of Service. And that alone has become a problem, meaning people aren't able to leave the station because of the number of people wanting to use 1 validator. 2 validators isn't enough at times, but when you only have 1 and a small exit nobody can move.

When I pass Ilford Road, P2 has for the past few days had both validators out of action. What will happen to Pay As You Go users when they can't tap in? They'll either get a free ride because the gates are open, or they'll just not bother touching out if the station is unmanned. If there are staff/gatelines in operation then they can just touch out and claim the validator as faulty. It's something that really needs sorted for January when PAYG is made available to everyone.
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4044 and 4016 were taken out of service at South Gosforth this afternoon due to the train "developing a fault", according to the driver's announcement. A replacement was waiting in the sidings.

Extra Christmas services would have likely been the reason for the quick replacement. Although, it depends where the fault developed and a replacement may have been sourced from the depot!

It could also have been a needed set swap to allow those units to switch to a different service to allow them to finish earlier for maintenance.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Totally agree about the validators, they seem to be very error prone. I'm looking forward to the January PAYG system, it's been long overdue but i cent help but worry that there will be some big teething issues. My Pop Card isn't going paperless even though it was meant to go paperless first all those years ago...

I must hand it to metro over taking trains out of service. For the few times I've been detrained they have had a replacement unit coming in from the depot or already positioned in the sidings at South Gosforth. To me if the fault develops around Regent Centre/Benton - South Gosforth they'll send out a unit to replace it, but any further away they seem to just chuck the train in Pelaw sidings and replace it later in the day. Punctuality isn't really helped by the shared paths down Sunderland where the coal trains frequently delay the Metro.

The patronage seems to have soared this month, most trains I have been on (mostly off peak) have been crush loaded. People don't help though as they all congregate near the doors instead of walking down the gangway or going to the articulation. My pet hate is people getting on when others are still getting off the unit, some people act as if the train will go without them.

 

[inais20]

I wonder if the ticket machines could be configured to do smartcard validation as a back-up for when the validators are (inevitably) broken? They've got all the card-reading hardware so presumably it'd just be a software update?

 

[142094]

Rail adhesion is also a micky take, up my end towards Airport you don't get any decent traction until you cross Fawdon level crossing, and everywhere before that is just slip slip slip and slow slow slow! Pull the finger out Nexus and sack the Low Rail Adhesion Manager.

Not a problem with the track but the fact that the council has started to grit the roads for winter. Road salt on the track is a nightmare, plus the fact that there are four stations between Fawdon and the Airport which have level crossings doesn't help things. Also the same situation at Howdon and East Boldon, however you don't notice it at the automatic crossings between Brockley Whins and East Boldon as the train has already accelerated to full speed.

I must hand it to metro over taking trains out of service. For the few times I've been detrained they have had a replacement unit coming in from the depot or already positioned in the sidings at South Gosforth.

From what I have heard, changing over trains is actually a lot more complicated than you would expect. Obviously there has to be a spare train to replace the broken one, but the spare train may be at the depot so has to be readied for service by a spare driver (if there is a spare driver). This is why during the peaks it is often a lot easier to borrow a Pelaw train instead of sending out a replacement from the depot.

In any case it also depends on the fault - certain things can be kept out and run with a fault, but others have to be taken straight out of service for safety reasons.

 

[Nexus_Comms]

A Spokesperson for Nexus writes:

"We note the request for Nexus to engage more with this forum. It would, unfortunately, be too time-consuming for our small Communications Team to reply continually to posts on the forum, and we are mindful of the fact this is a forum for members to talk to each other, not to us.

It's not our intention to 'shoot down' posters but we do respond where we feel that the conduct of Nexus as a public body is being questioned. We have a number of channels by which service users can contact us directly and we are happy to answer any questions through these - preferably email to our customer service address - customerservices@nexus.org.uk"

 

[142094]

Will be interesting to see what the situation is like on Sunday with no extra football trains out. Also, it might be a case that there are no Christmas special services out either (depending on driver numbers).

 

[MetroCar4058]

It's not our intention to 'shoot down' posters but we do respond where we feel that the conduct of Nexus as a public body is being questioned. We have a number of channels by which service users can contact us directly and we are happy to answer any questions through these - preferably email to our customer service address - customerservices@nexus.org.uk"

All we ask is you reply to the larger concerns we present, instead of lurking in the shadows. If there is one thing I personally would like to know (Not sure about others on the forum would like to hear) is what is the plan for this awful new announcer, why not answer our question instead of arguing against our point and avoiding it - Please, I plea Nexus give us a response to this.

Will be interesting to see what the situation is like on Sunday with no extra football trains out. Also, it might be a case that there are no Christmas special services out either (depending on driver numbers).

Oh goodness, is that due to a lack of drivers? I sense havoc on the horizon - Might as well class Sunday as a write-off.

 

[ModernRailways]

A Spokesperson for Nexus writes:

"We note the request for Nexus to engage more with this forum. It would, unfortunately, be too time-consuming for our small Communications Team to reply continually to posts on the forum, and we are mindful of the fact this is a forum for members to talk to each other, not to us.

It's not our intention to 'shoot down' posters but we do respond where we feel that the conduct of Nexus as a public body is being questioned. We have a number of channels by which service users can contact us directly and we are happy to answer any questions through these - preferably email to our customer service address - customerservices@nexus.org.uk"

My point is, you used to have the Nexus forums which were quite good, then you changed them so it was more of just a Q&A style and numbers engaging dropped hugely and in the end we saw the closure of it. As you don't have that to monitor anymore why can't you briefly drop in and just answer a few of the main things that have been raised on this forum? It's less time consuming that the old forum, surely?

And that there is also my point, you only seem to respond when someone says something wrong, so you're obviously lurking but you just can't be bothered to respond to any other valid criticism.

I would also just like to point out that good customer service is interacting with customers, getting involved, answering queries etc.

 

[ModernRailways]

Oh goodness, is that due to a lack of drivers? I sense havoc on the horizon - Might as well class Sunday as a write-off.

My problem is, is that Northumbria Police's operation where they're allowing fans to travel in themselves is a good one, but if Metro aren't going to provide a good service every 3 minutes through the core (maybe even 2 minutes) then basically s**t is going to hit the fan. They're will simply be too many people and inevitably people will get worked up, and who knows what will go from there. The additional xmas services are near non-existant from when I've been travelling - I think I've saw two and one of them failed

 

[MetroCar4058]

I struggle to see how we can't even put out a couple of extra Pelaw train, after all every little helps. Not sure how much effort Northern Rail puts into the Derby but it would help if they doubled up units or put a couple of extra trains on but people seem to prefer the Metro to the NR trains. I suppose the MetroCars need to be maintained and we need to hire more staff before we can finetune
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Noticed today our OTP was only 71% last sector, which is very poor. Also the wall based signs at Monument have been changed to 'Whitley Bay via Wallsend' so yes, the bloke is here to stay.

 

[ModernRailways]

'Every Little Helps' indeed But the drivers don't work for Tesco so they don't give a damn which is why there aren't any additional services - okay bit harsh, but they don't want to be stuck driving when they could be having a day out somewhere away from the football and shoppers.

Northern are doubling their units up and I believe are running an additional service (but don't hold me to that one).

They better not have been bloody changed, but then again this is Nexus and they will happily waste money when other things need more funding. But hey, let's all enjoy a nice, annoying, ride with our new chirpy announcer who can't for the life of him keep the same tone and just generally sounds like a complete a**e. Every other system has a clear, well spoken (almost robotic) female (or male) that keeps a clear consistent tone, and that is what we have (had) but no Nexus have to mess something good about the system up because they can't have something work well on the Metro now can they. God forbid something on a Metro is appreciated and for the most part liked by passengers! Get that removed ASAP, we are not allowed happy passengers/customers!

 

[MetroCar4058]

Praise the lord that someone is making an effort then! Hat off to NR.

In regards to the new signs, they stand out like a sore thumb, they have the wrong tone of yellow and are more orange. All of this is pushing me to signing the vote of no confidence in Nexus petition, something which I really would not want to do.

Does anyone know why 4058 pairing was WFS at South Gosforth today?
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After reviewing a video from 2012, it has always been Whitley bay on those signs, but still the colour is out compared to the rest of them.

 

[ModernRailways]

Praise the lord that someone is making an effort then! Hat off to NR.

In regards to the new signs, they stand out like a sore thumb, they have the wrong tone of yellow and are more orange. All of this is pushing me to signing the vote of no confidence in Nexus petition, something which I really would not want to do.

Does anyone know why 4058 pairing was WFS at South Gosforth today?

All the new signs have an orange tinge instead of old cadmium yellow. I would have imagined any new signs would have been in the new black/white style they've got going on.

WFS at South Gosforth?

Metro did run some additional services (I believe there was 2/3 extra trains), and the staff at Central were very friendly and I want to say they likely helped keep the peace, they were having a laugh with the passengers and just generally acting in a very friendly manner and got the two sets of fans talking calmly. On my train there was a group of Sunderland fans and Newcastle fans and they were all just having a chat about the match and what they thought was good. Well done to Northumbria Police, and Metro, it's nice to see such a big day pass with very little (if anything) on the Chronicle website about disorder!

 

[Paul_10]

Praise the lord that someone is making an effort then! Hat off to NR.

In regards to the new signs, they stand out like a sore thumb, they have the wrong tone of yellow and are more orange. All of this is pushing me to signing the vote of no confidence in Nexus petition, something which I really would not want to do.

Does anyone know why 4058 pairing was WFS at South Gosforth today?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
After reviewing a video from 2012, it has always been Whitley bay on those signs, but still the colour is out compared to the rest of them.

Does it really matter if the colour is slightly different to the other panels.... Just seems quite picky to me, certainly would not make me signing any petition about Nexus although other issues might!

Any news on the latest metrocar to leave for Doncaster? I have a feeling it might be 4027 as I have not seen it on the system for a good while now.

 

[142094]

I struggle to see how we can't even put out a couple of extra Pelaw train, after all every little helps.

Any additional trains have to be covered by rest day working (i.e. overtime). Since it is the derby and I guess 99% of the drivers will support either Newcastle or Sunderland, then no surprise that there will be few volunteers.

Does it really matter if the colour is slightly different to the other panels.... Just seems quite picky to me, certainly would not make me signing any petition about Nexus although other issues might!

The colour difference might be when the Sunderland Extension opened. The old signs would have directions for Heworth/Pelaw/South Shields. When the extension opened I think it changed to South Shields/Sunderland/South Hylton. The original vitreous enamel panels were covered with some sort of sticker.

The signs for Airport/Coast will not have been changed.

 

[14xxDave]

Does it really matter if the colour is slightly different to the other panels.... Just seems quite picky to me, certainly would not make me signing any petition about Nexus although other issues might.

While it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things for the general user, such lack of attention to detail in a large organisation with regards to their corporate identity would make any investor/advertiser possibly think twice about who they are dealing with. Smacks of a lack of managerial skill...

D.

 

[Tramfan]

Any news on the latest metrocar to leave for Doncaster? I have a feeling it might be 4027 as I have not seen it on the system for a good while now.

As far as I know the last unit to go down was 4032 on Tuesday 9th December with 4007 returning.

4038 is the next unit due back, which went a full 2 weeks (as opposed to the usual 10 days) after 4007, so I suspect there will be a move early this week before Christmas.

 

[Paul_10]

While it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things for the general user, such lack of attention to detail in a large organisation with regards to their corporate identity would make any investor/advertiser possibly think twice about who they are dealing with. Smacks of a lack of managerial skill...

D.

I just think its a very minor detail in the grand scheme of things... For me, what is more shocking is that Hebburn, Jarrow and Bede have been refurbished in their eyes.... All it was was some repainting of yellow panels to black, repainted lamp posts, and I believe a new surface in the ticketing areas... the old etched white panels are never replaced and any lighting in the shelters were not renewed/replaced either! It is well known that Nexus had to scale back these refurbishment but I do find it embarrassing that not only the work was not fully done, it is to a very basic standard.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Does it really matter if the colour is slightly different to the other panels.... Just seems quite picky to me, certainly would not make me signing any petition about Nexus although other issues might!

I wasn't bothered about the colour, I thought it linked to my previous point that they had been changed for the new PA, but it turned out they have been like that for a while. I agree it is bad for corporate identity however.

My point for signing the petition is based on these:

Falling standards of service
Ignoring the passenger voice (closing the forums, reintroducing the new PA)
Wasting the Central Gov Funding


Regarding the WFS at South Gosforth that was Saturday - it was a Coast Train terminating for some reason.

How long do the refurbishments take down at Donny nowadays? I had heard they are shorter than they were when 4041 went down right at the start.

 

[142094]

Regarding the WFS at South Gosforth that was Saturday - it was a Coast Train terminating for some reason.

What time on Saturday?

Also I take it WFS means 'Withdrawn from Service'.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Oh I really can't remember now, maybe 1530 ish

A very nice day on the Metro, It really is A joy to behold when you see everything going well and running smoothly. Especially at peak when everyone is working hard and running well. Only bad thing is sticky doors and broken buttons on 4073 again and 4001 (never thought I'd see the day that a prototype was in question)

Bloody hell, 4001 is 45 years old next year!

 

[ModernRailways]

I just think its a very minor detail in the grand scheme of things... For me, what is more shocking is that Hebburn, Jarrow and Bede have been refurbished in their eyes.... All it was was some repainting of yellow panels to black, repainted lamp posts, and I believe a new surface in the ticketing areas... the old etched white panels are never replaced and any lighting in the shelters were not renewed/replaced either! It is well known that Nexus had to scale back these refurbishment but I do find it embarrassing that not only the work was not fully done, it is to a very basic standard.

That's something that has annoyed me too. Especially since they felt the need to close the platforms, and whilst I can understand them needing to close it if they are changing the flooring, they didn't change the flooring. The gritty sandpaper type floor the ticketing areas/stairs have gained was all done during the late night (very early morning 1am-5am).

The paint on some of the poles is already starting to peel away which is quite funny because it hasn't even been 6 months.

 

[Tramfan]

Looks like 4067 is to be the next one to go for refurbishment

 

[MetroCar4058]

Looks like 4067 is to be the next one to go for refurbishment

Not many older sets left now, they were out in force today on the Green line! How many do we have now about 10?