New Metro trains not cleared to run full line
BBCThe new Tyne and Wear Metro trains are still not cleared to run to Sunderland.
The first of the Metro's new fleet entered service in December after multiple delays.
Seven weeks on, the Stadler-built train is still to make a journey to Wearside and has instead been confined to the yellow line running between St. James' and South Shields.
However, operator Nexus has promised that Wearside passengers will finally get their first chance to ride one before the end of March.
The new trains do not yet have permission to run on tracks owned by Network Rail, which manages the line from Pelaw to South Hylton rather than Nexus.
Kevin Dickinson, of the Sort Out the Metro campaign, said he felt "incredulous" that the new fleet, which was originally meant to start being rolled out in summer 2023, was not allowed to run to Sunderland after so many years of planning.
"We keep hearing about how big and complex Metro projects are," he said.
"The reality is that most have been delivered behind schedule and without the promised benefits."
'Compatibility checks'
Nexus told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that a second new Metro train was due in service and will be put on the Sunderland line by the end of March once it had completed "all of the necessary compatibility checks" with Network Rail's system.
Network Rail said the compatibility checks were "very close to completion".
"The plan has always been for the new trains to be phased into use, with Nexus starting on their own network before rolling out to the Sunderland route," it said.
Half of the 46 new trains are scheduled to be running by the end of 2025, as the full £362m fleet is gradually rolled out over the next two years.
Paul Welford, major projects director at Nexus, said a "vast amount of work is taking place to safely get these new trains into service for our customers as soon as possible".