Transport

Farewell to the Metro That North Tyneside Grew Up With

The original Tyne and Wear Metro fleet has retired after 46 years and around 1.7 billion journeys, as the new Stadler trains take over the lines through North Tyneside.

Tynemouth.live·9 July 2026

If you grew up in North Tyneside, you grew up on the Metro. The yellow-and-black Metrocars that carried generations from Tynemouth, North Shields and Whitley Bay into Newcastle and back have now made their final scheduled journey, bringing an era of local travel quietly to a close.

The original Class 599 fleet entered service in 1980. Over 46 years it carried around 1.7 billion passengers, threading the coast and the city together on a system that reshaped how the region moves. The last scheduled Metrocar service ran on Friday 26 June 2026, its final week marked by special timetabled runs across the network.

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Those trains were part of daily life here for nearly half a century: the walk down to Tynemouth station under the great glass canopy, the run along the coast past Cullercoats and Whitley Bay, the change at Monument for the match or the shops.

Reflecting on the milestone, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said the fleet had given "our region 46 years of service," confirming that the original trains would soon be phased out completely, according to RailAdvent.

Their replacements are the new Class 555 trains, built for Nexus by the Swiss manufacturer Stadler. The first entered passenger service in December 2024, and the full fleet of 46 units has been rolling out across the lines since, bringing air conditioning, phone charging and sliding steps for easier, step-free boarding.

Not every Metrocar is heading for the scrapyard in County Durham. Three units are being kept back: two set aside for preservation, and one passed to the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service for training. So a little of the fleet that so many of us rode to school, to work and to the coast will survive.

For North Tyneside commuters, the change is already visible on the platform each morning. The new trains are smoother and quieter, but there will be a soft spot in plenty of local hearts for the rattling old Metrocars that got us there for 46 years.

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