A group of railway journalists have praised the Tyne and Wear Metro’s original train fleet for its over 40 years of service in transforming public transport in North East England.

The fleet comprised 90 trains when the line opened in 1980, and tickets cost 8p. Trains now operate 20 hours a day from 5 am to 1 am, and since 1980, the trains have covered 500 million kilometres, passengers have made 1.7 billion journeys, and Queen Elizabeth II visited the line three times.

This is now the last week for the old fleet to be in service, and the last chance for customers to travel on one of the original trains.

Civil engineer Professor Tony Ridley was one of the brains behind the Tyne and Wear Metro, and sadly, he passed away at the end of April, aged 92.

One of the journalists writing about the network is award-winning writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar, who specialises in transport and has written a series of books on railway history. Christian commented that the North East is one of the few regions in the UK outside of London to have a proper light rail system. For its original train fleet to last for 46 years is a tribute to British engineering and to the teams who have looked after the fleet. With the North East being the birthplace of the world’s railways, it’s fabulous to see that the new Metro trains are in service, and it’s something to be celebrated.

“The Tyne and Wear Metro was the UK’s first modern light rail system when it opened in 1980. Since then, the same rolling stock has been plying the system, reliably transporting commuters, airport-goers, day-trippers or those visiting friends or relatives or going for a night out. Now, as they are being retired, the old Metro cars are some of the oldest rolling stock operating in the country. I’ve been a regular visitor to Newcastle and have often travelled on Metro, enjoying the colourful liveries carried over the years and, in particular, the view from the front seat, almost next to the driver – an almost unique experience. But over the last year and a half, new Stadler trains have brought modern rolling stock to Metro and introduced the sort of facilities passengers expect from new trains. As we embark on a new era, some will miss the old Metro carriages – their importance to the region over the last 46 years has been immeasurable.”

Rob Pritchard, Editor of Today’s Railways magazine