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British Rail Class 555
The British Rail Class 555 Metro is a class of electric multiple units, commissioned and built for the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus) by the Swiss company Stadler Rail, at a total cost of £362 million, for use on the Tyne and Wear Metro. For operation on Network Rail controlled tracks between Pelaw Junction and Sunderland, they are designated on TOPS as the Class 555.
Tyne and Wear Metrocars have been in use since the system opened in 1980. In 2016, Nexus began work to replace these trains, with Stadler Rail chosen in January 2020, and the order of 46 trains confirmed in March 2020. To facilitate operation of the new trains, a new Metro Fleet Depot in Gosforth was built, and 40 of the 60 stations are having platform heights modified. On 18 December 2024, the first unit entered passenger service. By February 2026, all 46 new trains had been delivered, with full replacement of the Tyne and Wear Metrocars to be completed later in 2026.
Tyne and Wear Metrocars have been in use since the Tyne and Wear Metro opened in 1980, and had last been refurbished in the early 2010s. In 2016, Nexus announced a consultation to determine the views of its customers in the design of its planned new fleet of trains. At the time, the operator had completed a life-extending refurbishment on its existing fleet that was intended to take it up to its planned life-expiry date, which was estimated for the early to mid 2020s.
In 2018, Nexus began the procurement process to purchase a new fleet of trains, with its initial proposal for a total of 42 units, each of five cars, to replace the 89 existing sets, with an option to order another four units to cope with passenger demand. The successful bidder would design, build and maintain the trains over a period of 35 years. In June 2019, three bidders were shortlisted by Nexus – Stadler Rail, Hitachi Rail and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF).
In January 2020, Nexus selected Stadler Rail's Metro platform as the basis for its new trains. Two months later, Nexus received funding for an additional four units, taking the total up to 46.
Construction of the first Class 555 units began in 2021, with delivery of the first unit on the Metro network occurring in early 2023 for testing and commissioning. Two units were extensively tested at a test track, based in Velim in the Czech Republic.
In September 2020, Nexus undertook a second public consultation to ask for opinions on how the interior of the new trains should be designed, related to the seating, grab poles and space for bike racks. At the same time, Nexus' drivers were consulted on the design of their cabs using virtual reality software, and in March 2021, took delivery of a physical cab mock-up built by ROBUR Prototyping in Chemnitz, Germany and shipped to the Gosforth Depot. A cab consultation period was carried out between March and April 2021 with over 200 operational staff taking part. Unlike the previous fleet, which had only a half-width driver's cab at each end, with the other half occupied by passenger seating, the new units will have a full-width driving position.
The new trains will be five cars long in fixed formations, with a Jacobs bogie between the inner cars. One centre car will be fitted with a Brecknell Willis pantograph to draw the power from the 1,500 V DC overhead lines. They will also be fitted with regenerative braking technology for greater energy efficiency, and a battery energy storage system that will allow the trains to remain powered and reach the nearest station if the overhead lines fail.
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British Rail Class 555
The British Rail Class 555 Metro is a class of electric multiple units, commissioned and built for the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus) by the Swiss company Stadler Rail, at a total cost of £362 million, for use on the Tyne and Wear Metro. For operation on Network Rail controlled tracks between Pelaw Junction and Sunderland, they are designated on TOPS as the Class 555.
Tyne and Wear Metrocars have been in use since the system opened in 1980. In 2016, Nexus began work to replace these trains, with Stadler Rail chosen in January 2020, and the order of 46 trains confirmed in March 2020. To facilitate operation of the new trains, a new Metro Fleet Depot in Gosforth was built, and 40 of the 60 stations are having platform heights modified. On 18 December 2024, the first unit entered passenger service. By February 2026, all 46 new trains had been delivered, with full replacement of the Tyne and Wear Metrocars to be completed later in 2026.
Tyne and Wear Metrocars have been in use since the Tyne and Wear Metro opened in 1980, and had last been refurbished in the early 2010s. In 2016, Nexus announced a consultation to determine the views of its customers in the design of its planned new fleet of trains. At the time, the operator had completed a life-extending refurbishment on its existing fleet that was intended to take it up to its planned life-expiry date, which was estimated for the early to mid 2020s.
In 2018, Nexus began the procurement process to purchase a new fleet of trains, with its initial proposal for a total of 42 units, each of five cars, to replace the 89 existing sets, with an option to order another four units to cope with passenger demand. The successful bidder would design, build and maintain the trains over a period of 35 years. In June 2019, three bidders were shortlisted by Nexus – Stadler Rail, Hitachi Rail and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF).
In January 2020, Nexus selected Stadler Rail's Metro platform as the basis for its new trains. Two months later, Nexus received funding for an additional four units, taking the total up to 46.
Construction of the first Class 555 units began in 2021, with delivery of the first unit on the Metro network occurring in early 2023 for testing and commissioning. Two units were extensively tested at a test track, based in Velim in the Czech Republic.
In September 2020, Nexus undertook a second public consultation to ask for opinions on how the interior of the new trains should be designed, related to the seating, grab poles and space for bike racks. At the same time, Nexus' drivers were consulted on the design of their cabs using virtual reality software, and in March 2021, took delivery of a physical cab mock-up built by ROBUR Prototyping in Chemnitz, Germany and shipped to the Gosforth Depot. A cab consultation period was carried out between March and April 2021 with over 200 operational staff taking part. Unlike the previous fleet, which had only a half-width driver's cab at each end, with the other half occupied by passenger seating, the new units will have a full-width driving position.
The new trains will be five cars long in fixed formations, with a Jacobs bogie between the inner cars. One centre car will be fitted with a Brecknell Willis pantograph to draw the power from the 1,500 V DC overhead lines. They will also be fitted with regenerative braking technology for greater energy efficiency, and a battery energy storage system that will allow the trains to remain powered and reach the nearest station if the overhead lines fail.