Community groups invited to give old Metro trains new lease of life

Up to five Metro carriages are to be donated to community groups.

Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, is keen to hear creative and innovative ideas about how an old train could be transformed into a vibrant public asset.

Community groups and not-for-profit organisations have been invited by Nexus to submit their plans and ideas for the iconic Metro carriages, which are set to be replaced by the state-of-the-art new trains from 2023.

The aim is to donate up to five Metro carriages for community use after they have been decommissioned.

Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: “The Metro trains have been real workhorses over the last 41 years but they will start to be phased out from 2023 to make way for our new trains, so it’s fitting that we allow some to be donated for local communities to make use of them.

“We are seeking expressions of interest and ideas from community groups and non-profit organisations about how a Metrocar might be used somewhere as a public asset once it has been taken out of service.

“What we need now are creative and exciting proposals from the public as we get ready to say goodbye to the Metro fleet.

“We are giving away up to five Metro trains. The challenge is to get your thinking caps on and consider how you would go about converting a Metrocar to a new use if you were to receive one.

“Using an old Metro as a valued community space is a very fitting way to commemorate the service they have provided since they entered service over 40 years ago.”

After more than four decades of service the Tyne and Wear Metro trains are to be retired from the network. They will be phased out from 2023 and through 2024.

Nexus is also planning to retain up to two of the original Metro prototypes – the first two trains to arrive in the region in the late 1970s – for heritage purposes to be donated to museums.

Stadler, the Swiss train manufacturer, is building 46 new Metro trains, delivered up to 2024.

Community groups can find out more at https://www.nexus.org.uk/community-trains

To register an expression of interest in a used Metro carriage email [email protected]