Metro memories as old trains begin last week in service

5 hours ago

Pamela BilalovaNorth East and Cumbria

The old Metro trains are entering their final days in service this week

BBC A black and yellow old Metro train approaches Sunderland's St Peter's station. The green arched Wearmouth Bridge can be seen in the background, as well as the tall grey Echo Building. — The old Metro trains are entering their final days in service this week

As the old fleet of trains from the Tyne and Wear Metro enter their final week of service, people share their memories of when they first pulled up at platforms.

Rob Tickell was one of the first to travel on the Metro service as a child in the 1980s and says he will not "forget them in a hurry".

He has been able to see the trains from his Benton home his entire life and says spotting one of the new ones coming past for the first time gives him a "buzz of nostalgia".

"You think 'oh, I remember what it was like seeing the first one coming past,'" he says.

For Paula Mitchinson in Sunderland, who moved near a station soon after the network reached the city, travelling on the carriages was a chance to feel like a child again and pretend to "drive the train" from the front seat.

The ageing fleet is being replaced by 46 Stadler trains at a cost of £362m.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has also announced services will increase from December - a train will run every 10 minutes on each line during the week.

Newcastle musician Rob Tickell was one of the first who travelled on the Metro in 1980

Michael Matthews Rob Tickell is performing on stage with an electric guitar. He is wearing a striped shirt and smiling. — Newcastle musician Rob Tickell was one of the first who travelled on the Metro in 1980

The UK's first urban light rail network began operating in August 1980 and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II the following year.

Since then, the original trains have made 1.7 billion customer journeys, clocking up half a billion kilometres, operator Nexus says.

The carriages were originally white and yellow, but were refurbished between 2010 and 2015, changing to a light metallic grey and black exterior finish alongside the signature bright yellow branding.

Trains initially ran only between Haymarket and Tynemouth

Walter Dendry/Geograph A photo from 1980 of one of the original Tyne and Wear Metro trains. It is in yellow and white livery, with the destination marked as Haymarket, and is standing a Tynemouth Metro Station, with people looking at it over a railing. — Trains initially ran only between Haymarket and Tynemouth

When he was about 12, Tickell travelled on a test train ahead of the system's official opening.

He says at the time the carriages felt futuristic, airy and bright.

"We got to travel down the line and went into the underground section for the first time," the 57-year-old recalls.

"There was a thrill to seeing those trains arriving in a roar of air along the tunnels, which was really quite novel to anyone in Newcastle at the time."

'Driving the train'

Initially the network only ran between Newcastle's Haymarket and Tynemouth in North Tyneside.

It was later extended around the coastal loop, before Newcastle Airport was added in 1991 and Sunderland in 2002.

Paula Mitchinson moved near the Stadium of Light station shortly after it opened in 2002.

The Sunderland fan says naming the station after the Black Cats' home ground "sealed it completely".

"I love the old Metro trains. They were perfect trains," the retired teacher says.

"And what's even more wonderful, and I know a lot of people feel the same way, if I was really lucky or it was early in the morning, I might be able to get the very front seat or the very back seat.

"And I'm a big kid at heart, so I could pretend I was a train driver, which was great."

Paula Mitchinson moved near the Stadium of Light station shortly after it opened

Paula Mitchinson is smiling against the red and white backdrop of the Stadium of Light metro station. She is wearing a blue Adidas puffer jacket with Sunderland AFC's crest and has short grey hair. — Paula Mitchinson moved near the Stadium of Light station shortly after it opened

Mitchinson hopes to catch one of the old metros for the last time this week.

"Even though they're not new trains, they were there and they were there all the time," she says.

"And I know sometimes it could be late, but it was still a lot quicker to use the metro to go anywhere around the system."

While Tickell is not sure if he will get to travel on an old train one last time, he hopes to at least "catch sight of one".

"I'm quite lucky because I've had such a long time with them in my life effectively that I've got a lot of memory stored up, so I don't think I'm going to forget them in a hurry."