Explained: Door problem that temporarily stopped Tyne and Wear's new Metro fleet

Five new Tyne and Wear Metro Class 555s were taken out of service over the Easter weekend, after a fault meant doors on both sides of the unit opened at stations.

The initial fault occurred at Simonside station on April 20, with the unit immediately returned to Metro operator Nexus’s depot at South Gosforth. The remaining four units were all then withdrawn on April 24 before returning to service on April 30.

The error was initially described by Nexus as a “software issue” with the door release, although manufacturer Stadler disputed this, claiming that the “Stadler vehicle behaved exactly as it was intended to”.

Nexus and Stadler then released a joint statement confirming the issue, with Nexus Managing Director Cathy Massarella commenting: “We have identified an issue linked to the operation of the doors. The standard operational procedure regarding opening and closing of the doors on the new fleet is different to that of the existing fleet and we need to investigate the impact of this further.”

RAIL has learned that part of the issue was with the functionality of the selective door operation.

The ‘555s’ operate a pre-select function, which means that passengers can press to open a door before a train reaches the platform, with the door opening once it does. However, it is unclear why this faulted once the driver initiated the door opening.

Nexus Major Projects Director Paul Welford told the BBC that it was “a series of unlikely events, which stemmed from the incorrect operation of the doors”, before adding that the removal of the other four trains was a “precautionary issue”.

He added: “It’s disappointing to pause our rollout for a week, but teething troubles were to be expected. It is early in the introduction of the fleet, having successfully got five of the 46 trains into service.”

The fallout from the unit’s temporary withdrawal led to the region’s mayor Kim McGuinness asking for a full explanation of the issues.

“I’m determined to give passengers in the North East the world-class service they deserve and will be working round the clock to ensure Nexus and Stadler deliver,” she said.

It’s a further setback for the rollout of the £362 million fleet, which is already delayed.  

Initially due by summer 2023, Nexus currently has only 17 of its original 46 units delivered from Stadler’s Swiss factory.

However, most of those are not yet in operation, with the first four beginning revenue duties in December 2024. Since then, a further unit entered service in February.

The units have been extensively tested in both Switzerland and across the wider Tyne and Wear Metro network before entering service. Neither Stadler nor Nexus would confirm whether this specific issue was initially identified.

After the withdrawal, all five of the sets then went through further testing and software checks at South Gosforth, with Nexus confirming that it had identified a solution to the issue.

Massarella added: “I know this temporary pause was disappointing, but we don’t expect this to have any impact on the overall rollout timescales.”