Nexus, who own and manage the Tyne & Wear metro have revealed the final interior designs for the new fleet of trains.
Following public consultations, 23,000 responses from passengers, employees and user groups were taken into consideration.
The completed design has an open-plan and linear seating layout. Alongside an attractive look and feel, the design meets industry standards for safety and accessibility.
Production of the new trains will start in August and the first trains are expected to enter service in 2023.
The finalised designs include an open plan layout with 116 seats, there are four dedicated wheelchair spaces along with multi-use areas for cycles, prams and luggage.
Passengers will be able to see information about their journey on digital information screens.
42 new Metro trains will be built by Stadler and they will be responsible for servicing and maintenance of the new trains for 35 years.
Metro Development Director, Neil Blagburn, said: “We're really excited to reveal the final interior design for the new Metro train fleet.
“We've listened to the views of thousands of people during the consultation process and we have acted on that feedback by making changes to a range of the interior features.
“We have added 12 more tip-seats seats to the carriages, a more bespoke space for wheelchairs, and double grab poles. The poles and handrails will all be in the distinctive yellow Metro colour scheme.
“The seats will be made from a hard-wearing material and will have a sleek grey colour. They were designed by our very own in-house team and they will incorporate the iconic ‘M' logo in the Calvert font that we use on all Metro signage.
“Lockdown meant that the entire consultation process had to be done differently, and an array of online tools were used capture a record number of responses for what is the biggest project since the Metro opened 40 years ago. Stadler said it was the most far-reaching customer consultation they had ever known.
“Now that the interior designs are finalised the next step will be Stadler starting to build the new trains. This process is scheduled to begin in August.
“It's another step on the road towards the new Metro fleet. When the new trains start entering service it will mark the start of a bright new future for the Tyne and Wear Metro.”
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No seats then for the elderly or disabled?
If you watch the video in the article, around 8 seconds in, you can see the accessible seats next to the door, identified by the stickers on the windows behind them.
All that metro operators seem to interested in now is longitudinal seating for crush loading capacity. If I was going to travel all the way from Newcastle to Whitley Bay, I would rather not be facing sideways.
And it’s classified as Class 555. Similar to the Merseyrail Class 777.