Tyne & Wear Metro: Fleet Refurbishment List

[MetroCar4058]

the disruption was around 4 hours so by the time they sourced the buses, got standbys out and then routed them there would be no point in doing so as it would take a long time to logistically organise that. Also there are arent many reserve buses anymore that companies are willing to put out on service for another operator. I think the bus companies are better to strengthen service than put on a timely MRBS, after all when we had the line closures, many people used normal buses and not the replacement service

 

[142094]

As far as I know the replacement bus services that were once provided by the smaller operators (Kingsleys being one I remember) were normally buses that would be used on school runs during the week. Therefore as most of engineering work took place at weekends, there was a ready supply of buses. Even during the week it would be difficult enough to find a fleet of buses ready to go at short notice, and the drivers needed. This is why it is easier to get ticket acceptance on Go North East/Arriva/Stagecoach before getting a full 900 bus replacement on.

 

[Paul_10]

As far as I know the replacement bus services that were once provided by the smaller operators (Kingsleys being one I remember) were normally buses that would be used on school runs during the week. Therefore as most of engineering work took place at weekends, there was a ready supply of buses. Even during the week it would be difficult enough to find a fleet of buses ready to go at short notice, and the drivers needed. This is why it is easier to get ticket acceptance on Go North East/Arriva/Stagecoach before getting a full 900 bus replacement on.

Indeed, remember when you get off the metro to get on another 'metro' in the form of the good ol' Metrobus! Even during school days, usually if there was an unplanned disruption then there would be an replacement bus service in operation. Yes, if the service is suspended because of a train failure then providing a bus replacement would be pointless as the suspension is not likely to last long but yesterday's disruption was always going to last a much longer period of time. Plus having a bus replacement through the core of the system would help to ease overcrowding on normal services and passengers may be a little more satisfied than getting on a crowded single decker bus.

As it happens, I do remember the occasion during summer 2013 when there was an replacement bus service when during the hot weather, a train pulled down the OHL wires at Felling and the service was suspended between Monument and Heworth and no doubt part of the reason why buses were sourced was because fixing an OHL will always lead to a lengthy suspension in the metro service.

It will take much less than 4 hours to get a replacement bus service in operaton also, aslong there is enough buses and drivers available then a metro replacement could easily be runned quite quickly. Yes yesterday was an extreme case but even so, you expect paying customers to be treated better really.

It does worry me most of the time when there is an unplanned suspension, then the best plan seems to be getting operators to accept metro tickets and have a miserable journey on an packed bus which means normal bus passengers faces delays or even unable to board their bus through no fault of their own. There has to be a better back up plan in certain cases for sure.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Well tonight they have put a taxi shuttle service on, Tynemouth to Monkseaton due to obstruction

'No trains Tynemouth - Monkseaton due to obstruction on the line. noda taxis are running a shuttle service in the affected areas'

I really feel Metro needs more points, seriously that obstruction is closing too many stations! Seeing 4016 leading today really made my heart sink, that bloke is a total pile of rubbish! 'The next station is Haymarket for Newcastle shopping' loving that new name for the station! But lets not be a broken record 58.

 

[Paul_10]

Well tonight they have put a taxi shuttle service on, Tynemouth to Monkseaton due to obstruction

'No trains Tynemouth - Monkseaton due to obstruction on the line. noda taxis are running a shuttle service in the affected areas'

I really feel Metro needs more points, seriously that obstruction is closing too many stations! Seeing 4016 leading today really made my heart sink, that bloke is a total pile of rubbish! 'The next station is Haymarket for Newcastle shopping' loving that new name for the station! But lets not be a broken record 58.

That is a new one too me! the last time i was on a unit with the male announcements, the "shopping" bit that was originally there was removed completely. I must look out for that next time.

Another change and its a good one, is for stations where there is a level crossing, the safety message is only mentioned once now and not the 3 times(i think) that was before.

Seems like they are still tweeking with this male announcer, it will be interesting if/when this will get properly rolled out across the fleet.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Nope it's still mentioned 3 times per station, I really hate the bloke and if he gets rolled out im just gonna start getting the bus. It really makes the metro look chavy.

Just for reference my comment on Haymarket was more sarcastic, as metros sheer disregard for punctuation makes it sound like the full text is actually the station name!

 

[tez thorn]

i was on 4016 a fortnight ago, and it only metioned it once, it said 'next station is Howdon,take care when

using the level crossing' or something like that, dont know if 4024 says something different, i know 4014

4055 dont have it, and they went before those two, wonder if 4038 has come back with it on

 

[142094]

I really feel Metro needs more points, seriously that obstruction is closing too many stations!

Points are a lot more expensive to install and maintain compared to normal plain line track. Probably wouldn't be feasible to have points at every other station to allow trains to terminate and turn back.

For the record I believe a tree fell onto the overheads at Cullercoats, so Tynemouth and Monkseaton are the two nearest stations where trains can be turned back from.

 

[MetroCar4058]

I'm on 4038 leading from A right now and she's got our lady on!

 

[ModernRailways]

Nope it's still mentioned 3 times per station, I really hate the bloke and if he gets rolled out im just gonna start getting the bus.

It's not so much that I don't like him, I just feel like he really needs to essentially just copy what the female announcements were like. To the point, with no extra faff. And no changing station names to something incredibly generic, such as 'Central'. What is it Central too? Which station are we actually at here, there is no such station on the map?

Nexus (if you're reading this), please can you reply with some responses and what changes are being planned for the announcements.

It really makes the metro look chavy.

So he's perfect for the role then and they should be rolled out in their current state.

Just for reference my comment on Haymarket was more sarcastic, as metros sheer disregard for punctuation makes it sound like the full text is actually the station name!

Speaking of Haymarket, the boards have been updated and now all train destinations are in full CAPS and as a result don't actually fit.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Speaking of Haymarket, the boards have been updated and now all train destinations are in full CAPS and as a result don't actually fit.

The boards at Haymarket are knackered, I noticed this too but sometimes you get South Hylton with accents on and everything! Why is everything on the Metro a shambles? I do hope it is just a technical glitch.

Regarding that bloke, he is just a pure farce, waste of cash, all that sort of stuff. Why can't they keep a respectable person on the PA. if they want some chav just look around! Nexus listened the first time and removed him. I struggle to see how removing him and putting him back on other trains makes a difference, its actually pure ignorance on behalf of Nexus.

It would be interesting to me to get views of our foreign, both overseas and cross country Metro users to see if they can fully understand him, if not Nexus' arm may be forced to pull the plug. I for one don't find him clear and crisp at all, even when ignoring the fact hes hard to understand I'm sure you can hear breathing when the train is stopped.

Maybe the use of Scoda Taxis last night was part of the contract for getting that bloke to do the PA, cheap bloke, cheap taxi deal

 

[ModernRailways]

The boards at Haymarket are knackered, I noticed this too but sometimes you get South Hylton with accents on and everything! Why is everything on the Metro a shambles? I do hope it is just a technical glitch.

Regarding that bloke, he is just a pure farce, waste of cash, all that sort of stuff. Why can't they keep a respectable person on the PA. if they want some chav just look around! Nexus listened the first time and removed him. I struggle to see how removing him and putting him back on other trains makes a difference, its actually pure ignorance on behalf of Nexus.

It would be interesting to me to get views of our foreign, both overseas and cross country Metro users to see if they can fully understand him, if not Nexus' arm may be forced to pull the plug. I for one don't find him clear and crisp at all, even when ignoring the fact hes hard to understand I'm sure you can hear breathing when the train is stopped.

Maybe the use of Scoda Taxis last night was part of the contract for getting that bloke to do the PA, cheap bloke, cheap taxi deal

Whilst I don't like the announcements you're coming really quite aggressive towards him. This is Nexus' problem to fix, he's only doing his job.

The only problems I have with him, which I will list (fingers crossed Nexus will reply to them) are:

• Central Station changing to Central, yet somehow South Shields is still South Shields instead of changing it to just Shields, since most locals just call it Shields. (This is my biggest bug bear of all, the fact that Central Station is just Central on the PA).
• Trains approaching South Gosforth on Platform 2 still don't state the trains actual destination, rather they just say change for a train towards The Coast (if train is for Airport and Vice Versa)
• Following on from my previous point, I believe whilst at the station, instead of just saying 'This is South Gosforth' (or Pelaw), it should say 'This is South Gosforth. This train is for Airport' (or wherever it may be going). So Pelaw would be 'This is Pelaw. This train is for South Shields.'
• Tone/Pitch is inconsistent, likely due to the fact that different parts have been mashed together and not been checked very well
• He doesn't have as much of a commanding voice (a good thing), as a result he doesn't really stand out when you're on a busy train with lots of people talking (after events, doesn't affect commuter services which tend to be silent). This isn't too big of a problem, it's more just something I've noticed.
• Too much added nonsense to the announcements. Nobody cares if Haymarket is for Newcastle shopping (okay, some might but most people will already know and not being relying on an announcement to tell them there are shops there). People want the barebones, too much information is unnecessary.

With all of the above sorted to the best of Nexus' ability (most of it is possible with very little change, Central Station may be the only problem if they decided not to record him saying Central Station') I believe the announcements would work out well.

I did slate them at first but Nexus/DB do appear to have made some good progress with them over the past month or so and I must admit whilst I don't love the announcements, they're a bit more lively than the female ones and with a few tweaks they can be pretty damn good!

Now I await Nexus' reply - maybe I should spout of some lies as that seems to summon them pretty quickly.

 

[Paul_10]

The boards at Haymarket are knackered, I noticed this too but sometimes you get South Hylton with accents on and everything! Why is everything on the Metro a shambles? I do hope it is just a technical glitch.

The boards at Haymarket P1 has been broken since they were installed although when I last saw them, apart from them going 'off'(Which is annoying) at random times, I never seen any random letters that used to appear but I think they are poor to start off with. The orange LED's are much better and easier too see and are much better to display useful info than these TV monitors.

Apparently the original plans were for all refurbished city centres to recieve them but I wonder with the scaled back plans, the older boards won't be replaced after all.

 

[MetroCar4058]

[Whilst I don't like the announcements you're coming really quite aggressive towards him. This is Nexus' problem to fix, he's only doing his job.QUOTE][/QUOTE]

I do accept I've been harsh on the bloke, Its not meant as a personal thing but I just don't think he is the right voice for Metro. I don't mind the safety announcements he does, they are quite good.

Apparently the original plans were for all refurbished city centres to recieve them but I wonder with the scaled back plans, the older boards won't be replaced after all.

I think they are still planning to put these new boards in. I'm sure it was a definite for the Central Station refurbishment even if extra funding could not be secured. I think the worry is that it will be more like a panel refresh and new flooring compared to the total gut that Haymarket had, I really hope they can get the funding to make them all Haymarket like along that belt.

Does anyone know what the refurbishment plans are for the interchange like station (Regent Centre, Longbenton, Chichester etc)

 

[theageofthetra]

First trip on the Metro for years today. Out of interest why are permissable speed boards in KM/H like on HS1?

 

[MetroCar4058]

Metro has always worked in KM/H not too sure why though. It was a decision took when designing the system, how did you find your journey?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Oh goodness, our dreamed peak time power supply failure has occurred. I hope service resumes shortly, lots of people in T&W are gonna be late to work today!

A few people are moaning down Sunderland about getting to Newcastle, Nexus should tell them their ticket is valid into Central with NR.

Does anyone know what today's issue is linked to?

 

[Paul_10]

A few people are moaning down Sunderland about getting to Newcastle, Nexus should tell them their ticket is valid into Central with NR.

I thought it was just the Network one tickets that are valid on Northern services? Also even if they are valid I doubt many customers know the exact timings of the Northern services but if you are correct then perhaps it should be better advertised.

 

[ModernRailways]

Metro has always worked in KM/H not too sure why though. It was a decision took when designing the system, how did you find your journey?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Oh goodness, our dreamed peak time power supply failure has occurred. I hope service resumes shortly, lots of people in T&W are gonna be late to work today!

A few people are moaning down Sunderland about getting to Newcastle, Nexus should tell them their ticket is valid into Central with NR.

Does anyone know what today's issue is linked to?

Took me two hours to go from Jarrow to Gateshead Stadium, I left on the 0650, left the train at around 0855 (1 hour 50 of that was stood at Felling for an hour, then standing 50 minutes at Gateshead Stadium where I bailed out and got a rather expensive Taxi to Kingston Park). I would have took the bus, but I wasn't aware how serious the disruption was as the train was on time into Jarrow and proceeded like normal up to Pelaw. And the problem then was that the bus would have been full anyway once it reached Pelaw so that wasn't an option at that point. I'm just glad I was only 1 hour 10 minutes late for work...

Northern were heavily disrupted heading into Newcastle because Metros were blocking the line as they couldn't go into Pelaw and off the mainline it resulted in Northern being blocked and IIRC a freight train was also blocking Tyne Dock so I doubt Northern wanted themselves advertised as an option.

I just feel sorry for those who usually get the 0817, one train passed me towards South Shields and so that would have been rammed heading back to Newcastle, it was absolute chaos. I also liked how ticket acceptance with buses wasn't put in until around 0815 which was too late for those who boarded over an hour beforehand and were sat on trains. It seemed to me, to be a case of 'Oh sh*t, we have the masses descending on the system maybe we should be a bit more proactive now and get some ticket acceptance in place.'

I thought it was just the Network one tickets that are valid on Northern services? Also even if they are valid I doubt many customers know the exact timings of the Northern services but if you are correct then perhaps it should be better advertised.

All Metro tickets valid between Newcastle and Sunderland are valid on Northern, same goes for train tickets. Nexus funds Northern services (not too sure how much they put in) between Newcastle and Sunderland. It's also why Gold Cards are allowed on Northern and during the day, Sunderland can see a lot of pensioners board the Northern trains to Heworth.

 

[MetroCar4058]

I saw a very interesting FOI request on the web, https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/requ...0/attach/html/2/Charter Punctuality.docx.html

It really is worrying the growing effect of Low Rail adhesion but the general punctuality seems constant. Obviously it is an unfair comparison because there is more stress on the fleet at the moment due to the refurbishments.

 

[ModernRailways]

I've heard that DB are going to be stopping the Jarrow tanks soon (end of February, possibly January), this could mean Metro getting the long-awaited double track down towards South Shields. Who knows, maybe (if the tanks do stop permanently) Metro will be pro-active and try and get the doubling of the line done quickly, maybe even in the next year or two?

 

[Paul_10]

I've heard that DB are going to be stopping the Jarrow tanks soon (end of February, possibly January), this could mean Metro getting the long-awaited double track down towards South Shields. Who knows, maybe (if the tanks do stop permanently) Metro will be pro-active and try and get the doubling of the line done quickly, maybe even in the next year or two?

Where would they get funding to electrify the single line and to completely change all the signalling that will go with it?

I be very surprised if anything happens in the next year or two but I hope the line does not become mothballed and deteriorate like the leamside line.

 

[MetroCar4058]

I suppose someones loss is Metros gain, it's a shame that that terminal might close but to be honest it's rail links are quite poor and restricted due to track and paths. I hope Metro can get funding if it does happen because it really will help reduce delays when a train is late and means we can run peak services along there for events such as GNR. I just hope we can get the line from Network Rail, I don't like NR owning our rails.

Regarding finance, it would probably only cost <8M so Nexus could pay for that out of their own pot! Or apply for finance which they probably would get as it could be regarded as needed.

 

[ModernRailways]

Where would they get funding to electrify the single line and to completely change all the signalling that will go with it?

I be very surprised if anything happens in the next year or two but I hope the line does not become mothballed and deteriorate like the leamside line.

Funding could come from South Tyneside Council, as well as Nexus. Maybe even Siemens might put some money in the pot.

IIRC Nexus may, just, be able to fund it themselves.

 

[Tbrown1980]

Hi all,

Been a while since I was last on here due to work commitments so I've been catching up with what's been going on.

Tez last updated the list back on 14th September 2014. If someone could help to update the list or if Nexus Comms could provide any info please do.

Thanks in advance

4001 Prototype (No refurb)
4002 Prototype (No refurb)
4003 Red
4004 Refubished
4005 Red
4006 Refurbished
4007 Red
4008 Refurbished
4009 Refurbished
4010 Refurbished
4011 Refurbished
4012 Red
4013 Refurbished
4014 Refurbished
4015 Refurbished
4016 Blue
4017 Refurbished
4018 Refurbished
4019 Refurbished
4020 Refurbished
4021 Refurbished
4022 Refurbished
4023 Refurbished
4024 Blue
4025 Red
4026 Red
4027 Advertisement
4028 Refurbished
4029 Refurbished
4030 Refurbished
4031 Refurbished
4032 Red
4033 Refurbished
4034 Refurbished
4035 Refurbished
4036 Refurbished
4037 Refurbished
4038 Advertisement
4039 Refurbished
4040 Advertisement
4041 Refurbished
4042 Refurbished
4043 Refurbished
4044 Refurbished
4045 Advertisement
4046 Refurbished
4047 Refurbished
4048 Red
4049 Refurbished
4050 Refurbished
4051 Refurbished
4052 Refurbished
4053 Refurbished
4054 Refurbished
4055 Refurbished
4056 Refurbished
4057 Refurbished
4058 Refurbished
4059 Refurbished
4060 Refurbished
4061 Refurbished
4062 Refurbished
4063 Refurbished
4064 Refurbished
4065 Refurbished
4066 Refurbished
4067 Advertisement
4068 Refurbished
4069 Refurbished
4070 Refurbished
4071 Refurbished
4072 Refurbished
4073 Refurbished
4074 Refurbished
4075 Refurbished
4076 Refurbished
4077 Red
4078 Refurbished
4079 Refurbished
4080 Advertisement
4081 Refurbished
4082 Refurbished
4083 Advertisement
4084 Advertisement
4085 Red
4086 Refurbished
4087 Refurbished
4088 Refurbished
4089 Refurbished
4090 Refurbished

Metrocars Refurbished:68
No Left:18

 

[MetroCar4058]

I think Nexus will definitely have their eye on that track if it does close. I doubt ST Council will want to give the Metro any cash due to their far flung tram ideas. Its always been on the Metro wish list though so this is the prime time to do so! We could even look further ahead of time and towards stealing the Brockley Whins Junction in the distant future. If the terminal closed would it spell an end to coal runs too?

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I think
07
16 (100%, its got Mr on)
38 (100%)
24 (100%)

Not sure about the rest mind :P

 

[ModernRailways]

I think Nexus will definitely have their eye on that track if it does close. I doubt ST Council will want to give the Metro any cash due to their far flung tram ideas. Its always been on the Metro wish list though so this is the prime time to do so! We could even look further ahead of time and towards stealing the Brockley Whins Junction in the distant future. If the terminal closed would it spell an end to coal runs too?

Tyne Dock/Port is being expanded so if anything we'll be seeing more coal, and biomass trains heading into Tyne Dock.

ST Council would definitely back the idea if they have the funds. IIRC, Gateshead Council helped in funding Pelaws rebuild

 

[MetroCar4058]

Ah yes they are different things, No Brockley Whins Junction for us then! I think it would be much better for us to have the extra track, if we still had Benton sidings we could have Benton - Jarrow short works at peak

 

[ModernRailways]

Ah yes they are different things, No Brockley Whins Junction for us then! I think it would be much better for us to have the extra track, if we still had Benton sidings we could have Benton - Jarrow short works at peak

What Metro want with Brockley Whins junction anyway?

Northern, Freightliner, DRS, Grand Central, and East Coast all traverse the route anyway, so Metro still has to share.

Maybe if the track down from Pelaw to Jarrow/Bede is doubled then maybe we will see services start at Hebburn or Jarrow. I'd be tempted to say Hebburn would likely be a terminating station. The current layout would require some quite large work to allow for double tracking as P1 is essentially on the correct track whereas P2 has to divert off. Maybe have the present day P1 become an island platform, with the current P1 becoming a terminating platform and the current freight only line becoming the new through platform.

 

[Paul_10]

I would imagine any funding would be external aswell as internal but I'll be surprised if anything happens any time soon though but as I said hopefully the line won't be mothballed and run down.

From my experience, any delays on the line is minimal, its only a few mins as trains get held if one train is running a little bit late but either way, doubling the track would be worth it so in the future, you could perhaps run a better peak service on the South Shields line.

 

[tez thorn]

ive moved list into a new thread that one is more recent, up Tuesday 23rd December when 4067 departed,

but just to clarify

4005,4007,4016,4024,4032,4038,4067,4084 have all been refurbished

leaving 4003,4012,4025,4026,4027,4040,4045,4048,4077,4080,4083,4085

hope this helps

regards

tez