Tyne and Wear Metro: 555005 at South Gosforth

Recorded 21/5/24
The driver left the tail lights on the front of the train arriving into South Gosforth for the 2nd time!
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Tyne and Wear Metro, operated by Nexus and Stadler is a Metro system based in Sunderland and Newcastle mainly in Tyne and Wear in the UK 🇬🇧. The current Metro fleet Class 994 or Class 599, is soon to be replaced by Stadler rail Class 555. Some other metro systems in the Uk include the London Underground and DLR in London and Merseyrail in Liverpool. Thanks for watching my videos! Please consider subscribing for daily metro content!

[@markbolam1383]

so modern cant wait to ride one

[@GospelFairy]

Lmao the oldschool metro pulling up next to his new counterpart 😭😭

[@TWMfan]

I’ll be filming the last day of the old trains. I never want it to happen

[@commuterjack]

It's cool that they have announcements for them

[@TWMfan]

Good thing too, people would just try and get on them

[@punkystuff]

I really need to listen out for that speaker so I can know when its coming. I'M TOO EXCITED

[@TWMfan]

if you see not in service on the PIS boards saying due and you hear "your attention please" prepare!

[@gkeaoyrge]

The existing fleet has served the region well over the years but it’s about time you folks in T&W got some modern rolling stock.

[@TWMfan]

Love our old metro trains but they need to go, they are costing too much money for nexus to maintain

[@tomjardine100]

Certainly not in the past 10 years

[@calvinliu6304]

Looks nice this new trains

[@TheRealCMTransport]

please DO NOT board this train 🗣️🗣️🔊

[@TWMfan]

I captured that announcement quite well like

[@MetroMark]

I need to try and cstchbone of these

[@TWMfan]

They should be out this week in the afternoon

[@loganmorritt194]

Could u do a vid of the new 555 going through sunderland

[@loganmorritt194]

@@ianbooth5412 ok

[@TWMfan]

Definitely but they have only been on the yellow line at the minute

[@tomjardine100]

I hope these trains can get ATO eventually when the signaling system is updated?

[@pineappleroad]

I doubt it will happen, considering that there are 5 automatic open level crossings (i suspect the crossings would be required to be upgraded if they did want to go ATO), and a number of footpath crossings

[@TWMfan]

Maybe ATO in some areas? But not all areas

[@roderickjoyce6716]

Why? ATO on an LRT system with about ten trains per hour would be a complete waste of money. Parts of the Metro are shared with heavy rail (Pelaw to Jarrow, but more importantly Pelaw to Sunderland along part of the Durham Coast line) so the entire section from Pelaw to South Hylton is controlled by the Network Rail signalling centre in York. Network Rail recently resignalled the entire Durham Coast line, and the Metro from Pelaw to Jarrow was resignalled by Metro when the track was doubled in Operation Flow. Because of the shared track, not only the 555s but all the mainline DMUs and diesel locos that run along the Durham Coast line would have to be converted to ATO. That includes the Grand Central service from Sunderland to London, which runs empty stock to and from Heaton. It would cost tens of millions of pounds for no improvement to services on the core network. I know the Glasgow Subway is being converted to ATO, but the Subway is completely underground, doesn't share tracks with any other services and is much smaller than the Metro. The DLR, the central section of the Elizabeth Line, and much of the Underground. are already running under ATO, but all of them have drivers (or Train Captains) so there's no saving in wages. Getting ATO to interface with the different signalling systems at either end of the Elizabeth Line cost a lot of time and money and delayed the opening by a year. If Nexus had that much money, I'd rather they spent it on extending services to Washington and possibly taking over the line to Ashington, with branches to Blyth town centre and Newbiggen-by-the-sea.

[@TWMfan]

@@roderickjoyce6716 I forgot about the sunderland line

[@nathanrickard]

The new rolling stock would require the necassary equipment especially on Train Control level to support the use of ATO/ATP. To follow the metro's history with it's signalling system, the in-cab signalling German LZB system (used on German high-speed and regional transportation, plus also on the Vienna U-Bahn) would be a plausable and proven safety solution since the T&W Metro currently uses the also German PZB signalling system. Theoretically, if the T&W Metro passenger demand increased heavily over the next decade, a good business solution would be to install either the LZB system between Pelaw and South Gosforth where capacity requirements are higher, or alternatively ETCS Level 2 which would integrate the Tyne and Wear easily onto other shared British railways if they choose to follow the ETCS standard and allow easier expansion. It is also common practice that trains switch signalling methods dynamically, so switching to e.g. PZB to LZB vice-versa would also be automatic.