Tyne and Wear Metro: New train delayed by 'technical glitch'

The new trains come into service later this year and feature advance air conditioning

A "technical glitch" has delayed the arrival of the first new Tyne and Wear Metro train for a second time.

Nexus, which operates the Metro, is spending £362m on a fleet of 46 new trains, which will go into operation later this year.

The train had been due to arrive in the North East in December, but was delayed for engineering works.

Nexus said the fresh setback would not have an impact on its plans for the rollout of the new stock.

The carriages currently in use have been serving thousands of passengers each day for more than four decades.

The trains will replace a much older fleet

In a statement, Switzerland-based manufacturer Stadler confirmed that a problem with the train had occurred at the start of its journey to the UK.

"Once this problem has been rectified, we will book track access to enable the train to make the trip to Newcastle, where it will undergo testing on the network as planned, ahead of entering passenger service later this year," a company spokesperson said.

• Glimpse inside new Metro trains ahead of testing

The entire fleet is due to be transported from Switzerland to the UK via the Channel Tunnel.

From there, trains will be tested and set up for the Metro infrastructure before gradually entering service in autumn, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The modern metros replaces the current stock which is more than 40 years old

"Stadler have notified us that there is a technical issue with the first new Metro train which means that it won't be brought over to north-east England this week as planned," a Nexus spokesperson said.

"This issue will not affect the overall programme of delivering the new Metro train fleet, which is going to be transformative for our customers and for our workforce.

"When the first new train arrives it will undergo a further period of testing and driver training as planned, before a scheduled entry into service for customers in the autumn."

Nexus claim the new fleet will features air conditioning, wi-fi, and phone charging points, and should be 30% more energy efficient than the current stock.