Last chance to give old Tyne and Wear Metro train a new lease of life

There is only a few days left for local community groups and organisations to submit ideas to give an old Tyne and Wear Metro train a new purpose.

The closing date to express an interest in the initiative is Tuesday the 30th of November, with Nexus keen to hear from community groups and not-for-profit organisations. The initiative provides a fantastic opportunity to come up with creative and innovative ways to repurpose one of the old iconic Metro carriages and transform it into a vibrant public asset.

Any party interested in taking part will need to complete and submit an Expression of Interest Form which can be found here: https://www.nexus.org.uk/community-trains

The link above includes all the information needed including the size and specification of the trains plus delivery details along with timescales.

Nexus are hoping to donate up to five Metro carriages to be used in the community following their decommissioning.

Following more than forty years of service, the hard-working Tyne and Wear Metro trains will be phased out of service during 2023 and into 2024. The old trains will be replaced by brand new, state of the art trains built by Swiss train manufacturer Stadler and will come into service during 2023.

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Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “The Metro trains have been real workhorses over the last 41 years, but they will start to be phased out from 2023 to make way for our new trains, so it’s fitting that we allow some to be donated for local communities to make use of them.

“We are seeking expressions of interest and ideas from community groups and non-profit organisations about how a Metrocar might be used somewhere as a public asset once it has been taken out of service

“What we need now are creative and exciting proposals from the public as we get ready to say goodbye to the Metro fleet.

“Using an old Metro as a valued community space is a very fitting way to commemorate the service they have provided since they entered service over 40 years ago.”