Nexus Colour Scheme For The New Tyne And Wear Metro Fleet

On 16 September 2020, Nexus, the public body which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has revealed colour scheme for its new train fleet, as Nexus launches a major public consultation on its interior design. 

The new colour scheme is a nod to the Metro’s iconic yellow PTE livery when the system first opened 40 years ago. It is an "eye-catching yellow paint job with black and pale grey along the train sides, providing clean delineation of train doors to modern accessibility standards. The colour scheme is built round Metro’s strong brand heritage and refers back to the original ‘PTE’ Metro livery, while taking the system into the future.  It has been refined through feedback from passengers and the technical input of the people who work on Metro - in cleaning, maintenance, marketing and accessibility roles". 

Nexus has hoped to take a mock-up cross section of a carriage around the five local authority areas, but pandemic restrictions make this impossible. Instead Nexus will be creating a VR-supported experience at the Rail Academy where it can invite key passenger groups in a covid-secure way.  This will be led by Nexus supported by Newcastle University’s Open Lab team.

As part of the Metro Futures programme the Open Lab team has created a website and a series of online events that will allow passengers to explore a virtual model of the train and have their say on the trains’ interior features, including handholds, wheelchair and cycle spaces and information displays, with particular attention to meeting the needs of less able passengers.

The new 362 million GBP Metro fleet, which is being built by Stadler, is set to enter service in 2023, transforming the experience for passengers and boosting reliability. In total 42 new units are scheduled to be delivered up to 2024.