The Tyne and Wear Metro will be far better able to cope with sizzling heatwaves once its new £362m fleet of trains arrives.
This week’s scorching weather has thrown public transport systems across the country into chaos. Metro passengers were advised not to travel on Tuesday as the North East recorded temperatures of up to 37C, while services had to be suspended on parts of the network since Monday due to overhead lines sagging in the heat.
But commuters who dreaded stepping foot on the Metro’s ageing carriages, which have been in service for more than 40 years, in the heatwave can look forward to more comfortable journeys soon. A long-awaited new fleet of trains for the Metro is currently being built in Switzerland and the first of the new models will arrive in the North East later this year, before entering service in 2023.
