Final Class 555 Arrives as £362m Metro Fleet Delivery Completed

The final train in the new Tyne and Wear Metro fleet has arrived in the North East, bringing the £362 million transformation project another step closer to completion.

The 46th and last Class 555 unit was delivered in the early hours of Saturday 21 February, reaching the Gosforth depot after its journey from Switzerland. With that arrival, manufacturer Stadler has now fulfilled its contract to supply the full fleet of new trains.

The introduction of the trains began at the end of 2024, when the first units entered passenger service. More than half of the fleet is now available for customer use, and Metro operator Nexus says it remains on track for the entire timetable to be operated by the new trains by the summer. Each train must undergo extensive testing and kilometre accumulation before it is cleared for service.

The ageing Metro fleet is expected to be withdrawn between late spring and early summer, with further details about their final weeks due to be announced soon. The remaining older units will be recycled.

The scale of the rollout marks the largest and most complex programme in Metro’s history. Since February 2023, when the first train was delivered, all 46 units have been transported approximately 1,800 miles from Stadler’s factory in Switzerland. Each one was hauled by locomotive across mainland Europe and through the Channel Tunnel before reaching the UK.

Designed following a public consultation that generated more than 23,000 responses, the new trains feature linear seating, mobile charging points, climate control and 44 CCTV cameras. They also incorporate battery technology and improved accessibility measures, including automatic sliding steps at every door to enable level boarding.

Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus, said:

“I’m delighted to confirm that all 46 new Tyne and Wear Metro trains have been successfully delivered to our region. This is another significant moment for the project, which is getting closer to completion. It is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work by our own teams and by our colleagues at Stadler. We already have more than half of the new Metro fleet available for customer service, and we are on course for all 46 trains to be ready by the end of this year. The new Metro trains are already proving to be transformative for customers. They represent a bright future for the Metro service. Our focus is to get all of the remaining new trains through testing and kilometre accumulation and ready for service, so the hard work will carry on from here. The fleet deliveries have been a complex process over the last few years. Each delivery was meticulously planned, and it’s involved a huge amount of night shifts to get us to this point.”

Stadler Switzerland CEO, Lucius Gerig, said:

“Nearly three years after the arrival of the first vehicle, Stadler has successfully delivered all 46 bespoke trains to Nexus — a fleet tailored to the needs of the Tyne and Wear Metro. This is a proud moment for Stadler and a milestone made possible by the dedication of our team and our close collaboration with Nexus.“

Image: Nexus