The Sunderland line of the Tyne and Wear Metro entered a new era this morning, Tuesday 18th February, when one of Metro’s new Class 555 trains entered regular passenger service.

The new train operated a service between South Hylton and Sunderland city centre before continuing to Newcastle International Airport on the Green Line.

Although this is the first time new trains have been used on the Sunderland line, they started Metro services on 18th December last year.

Customers will benefit from the new trains, as they will be more comfortable, of better quality, and more reliable. An extensive public consultation into their design elicited over 23,000 responses.

Manufactured by Stadler in Switzerland, 46 new trains are on order, with two-thirds of the order having been completed and 13 already delivered.

Twenty more are expected before the end of the year, and until all trains are in service, old and new trains will be seen together on the system.

Half of the 46 trains on order are planned to be in service by the end of 2025, and all new trains in service over the next two years.

“We’re delighted to put the new Metro train in service on our Sunderland line today, it s fantastic to see it serving customers in the city. It was an historic moment for Metro to see the new train travelling across the River Wear with customers on board. It s a great day for Sunderland. It was also fantastic to see the new train taking customers to Newcastle International Airport for the first time. A vast amount of work has gone into this project, which is our biggest and most complex project since Metro was first built. The Sunderland line is managed by Network Rail and we have worked closely with them to get everything in place for the first train to enter their infrastructure in full customer service.”

Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus