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Tyne and Wear Metrocar
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Tyne and Wear Metrocar
The Tyne and Wear Metrocar is a light rail vehicle used on the Tyne and Wear Metro in North East England. Ninety units were manufactured between 1978 and 1981 by Metro-Cammell and are designated on TOPS as the British Rail Class 599.
Trains were refurbished between 1996 and 2000, and between 2010 and 2015. Since 2024, they have been gradually replaced by new Class 555 electric multiple units, built by Stadler Rail. The last scheduled Metrocar service was on 26 June 2026.
The Metrocar design was partly derived from that of the German Stadtbahnwagen B; however, they were built by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham, and were not fitted with the lights and indicators that would have allowed them to run on streets.
Each Metrocar consists of two semi-permanently connected coaches mounted on three bogies. The outermost bogies are powered and the central Jacobs Bogie, located in the articulated section between both halves, is unpowered. The trains make use of rheostatic braking between 50 and 19 mph (80 and 30 km/h), with air-operated disc brakes for use during the final stages of deceleration below 19 mph (30 km/h). All bogies are also equipped with a pair of emergency magnetic track brakes, which can be used to bring a train to a complete stand in as little as 150 m (492 ft) from the maximum service speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). Metrocars have three acceleration steps and four braking steps, with an additional emergency brake step which drops the emergency magnetic track brakes.
Many features of the Metrocar are operated by compressed air, which is stored in a reservoir under the driving cab at the front of the train; these include: air-operated disc brakes, horn, windscreen wipers and passenger doors, as well as being used to raise the pantograph. As the section between Pelaw and Sunderland on which they operate is part of the Network Rail system, the units were allocated TOPS Class 599 in January 2002.
Prior to opening, two prototypes, 4001 and 4002, underwent several years of testing from June 1975 on a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) test track in Backworth. The track was built on the route of an old mineral wagonway formerly part of the North Tyneside Steam Railway. It had a two-lane car shed and a mock station platform, along with a short tunnel section which consisted of concrete tunnel segments laid at ground level; the tunnel was later demolished to allow testing of prototype cars for the Hong Kong MTR, also built by Metro-Cammell, since these cars have a very large profile. The test track was closed in 1980 and it is now home to the Stephenson Railway Museum.
The prototype cars are very similar to the production fleet, with the exception of being fitted with passenger doors manufactured by Kiekert instead of Westinghouse, having a central end door and using different types of coupling equipment at each end to allow the two designs to be thoroughly tested. The prototypes featured small cabs and central end doors similar to London Underground stock, to allow evacuation of trains in a tunnel. In the event, the Metro tunnels were constructed with continuous walkways, making the end doors unnecessary. Prior to their entry into service in 1987, the two prototypes were refitted to reflect the specification of the production fleet.[page needed] The small cabs remained in the series vehicles with a passenger seat beside offering a forward view.
The network is electrified with a 1,500 V DC overhead line system. This voltage was previously used on a number of railways in Great Britain, including the Woodhead line, but is now unique. Each Metrocar has its own Brecknell Willis pantograph for collecting power from the overhead line. The sections of Metro owned by Nexus have a maximum speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) in some areas, which matches the top speed of the rolling stock. The vehicles have a minimum curve radius of 50 m (160 ft), although there are no curves this tight except for the non-passenger chord between Manors and West Jesmond.
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Tyne and Wear Metrocar
The Tyne and Wear Metrocar is a light rail vehicle used on the Tyne and Wear Metro in North East England. Ninety units were manufactured between 1978 and 1981 by Metro-Cammell and are designated on TOPS as the British Rail Class 599.
Trains were refurbished between 1996 and 2000, and between 2010 and 2015. Since 2024, they have been gradually replaced by new Class 555 electric multiple units, built by Stadler Rail. The last scheduled Metrocar service was on 26 June 2026.
The Metrocar design was partly derived from that of the German Stadtbahnwagen B; however, they were built by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham, and were not fitted with the lights and indicators that would have allowed them to run on streets.
Each Metrocar consists of two semi-permanently connected coaches mounted on three bogies. The outermost bogies are powered and the central Jacobs Bogie, located in the articulated section between both halves, is unpowered. The trains make use of rheostatic braking between 50 and 19 mph (80 and 30 km/h), with air-operated disc brakes for use during the final stages of deceleration below 19 mph (30 km/h). All bogies are also equipped with a pair of emergency magnetic track brakes, which can be used to bring a train to a complete stand in as little as 150 m (492 ft) from the maximum service speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). Metrocars have three acceleration steps and four braking steps, with an additional emergency brake step which drops the emergency magnetic track brakes.
Many features of the Metrocar are operated by compressed air, which is stored in a reservoir under the driving cab at the front of the train; these include: air-operated disc brakes, horn, windscreen wipers and passenger doors, as well as being used to raise the pantograph. As the section between Pelaw and Sunderland on which they operate is part of the Network Rail system, the units were allocated TOPS Class 599 in January 2002.
Prior to opening, two prototypes, 4001 and 4002, underwent several years of testing from June 1975 on a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) test track in Backworth. The track was built on the route of an old mineral wagonway formerly part of the North Tyneside Steam Railway. It had a two-lane car shed and a mock station platform, along with a short tunnel section which consisted of concrete tunnel segments laid at ground level; the tunnel was later demolished to allow testing of prototype cars for the Hong Kong MTR, also built by Metro-Cammell, since these cars have a very large profile. The test track was closed in 1980 and it is now home to the Stephenson Railway Museum.
The prototype cars are very similar to the production fleet, with the exception of being fitted with passenger doors manufactured by Kiekert instead of Westinghouse, having a central end door and using different types of coupling equipment at each end to allow the two designs to be thoroughly tested. The prototypes featured small cabs and central end doors similar to London Underground stock, to allow evacuation of trains in a tunnel. In the event, the Metro tunnels were constructed with continuous walkways, making the end doors unnecessary. Prior to their entry into service in 1987, the two prototypes were refitted to reflect the specification of the production fleet.[page needed] The small cabs remained in the series vehicles with a passenger seat beside offering a forward view.
The network is electrified with a 1,500 V DC overhead line system. This voltage was previously used on a number of railways in Great Britain, including the Woodhead line, but is now unique. Each Metrocar has its own Brecknell Willis pantograph for collecting power from the overhead line. The sections of Metro owned by Nexus have a maximum speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) in some areas, which matches the top speed of the rolling stock. The vehicles have a minimum curve radius of 50 m (160 ft), although there are no curves this tight except for the non-passenger chord between Manors and West Jesmond.
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