Tyne and Wear Metro cars to be scrapped instead of donated

Some Tyne and Wear Metro trains will go to museums, but the majority will be scrapped

Plans to donate Tyne and Wear Metro cars for community use on decommission have been abandoned.

All but two trains, which have operated for 43 years, will be scrapped after the community project was deemed "complex and expensive".

Metro operator Nexus is replacing the aging fleet with new rolling stock next year.

Two trains will be given to North Tyneside's Stephenson Railway Museum and Beamish Museum, near Stanley.

Four carriages had already been stripped for parts and sent for scrap, transport bosses said.

Some of the existing trains could have been turned into classrooms, community hubs or street food outlets, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But Nexus said there were complexities in how they would be delivered, with a cost of thousands of pounds for the relocation of each train.

The existing fleet is more than 40 years old

Customer services director Huw Lewis said: "We recognise that there is affection and nostalgia for the trains.

"However, they are now at the end of their life and will be gradually phased out over the next two years as the new Stadler trains enter service."

He said although Nexus and train manufacturer Stadler had hoped to donate five trains to the community, the project was not viable.

"This is due to the complexity of delivery arrangements and the need, in many cases, for cranes and extra heavy machinery or significant works to prepare the sites for accepting the trains," he explained.

"This means we have been unable to arrive at a viable delivery plan for the vehicles to be transported to the potential locations, that could be justified as a reasonable use of public money at a time of rising inflation and operating costs that we face."

Earlier this year, Nexus said the donation of car number 4001, which was a Metro prototype, would help "tell the story of the Metro" at its new home in North Tyneside.

The arrival of the new fleet, which is due to feature London Underground-style seating and be more energy-efficient, has been put back to next year following delays to testing and parts.

The first of the new Metro trains will enter service next year