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Metrocar (Class 599)

Metro-Cammell's articulated cars, built for the Tyne and Wear Metro's opening in 1980 and derived from Duewag's German light rail cars. Each is two sections on three bogies, with a cab at each end, and they ran in pairs for 46 years, carrying 1.7 billion journeys. The first cars arrived in 1975 for trials on a test track in North Tyneside, and passenger service began on 11 August 1980. The fleet was refurbished at half life (1996-2000) and all but four cars (4001, 4002, 4040 and 4083) again at three-quarter life (2011-2015); by 2026 the cars had run about 310 million miles (half a billion km).

Metrocar (Class 599), schematic side elevation, 2 cars
Metrocar (Class 599), schematic side elevation, 2 cars, in operation: pantographs raised to a contact wire at 4.7 mcontact wire 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m)
91 ft (27.8 m) over the body ends

Metrocar (Class 599) · schematic drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/t-w-metrocar/ · CC BY 4.0

Schematic side elevation of a full train, drawn from the dimensions below. A Metrocar, measured from the Tyne and Wear PTE's general arrangement: one car of two sections on three bogies, the pantograph over the articulation. Branding left out: the Metro's M logos, the car numbers and the advertising some cars carried. In operation: the pantograph raised to a contact wire 15 ft 5 in (4.7 m) above the rail, Network Rail's normal height (Network Rail, A Guide to Overhead Electrification, 2015; one wire, schematic). Drawn at 10 px per metre. Download SVG Download SVG · Use this drawing

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Type
Electric multiple unit (articulated, two sections, double-ended)
Builder
Metro-Cammell, Washwood Heath, Birmingham
Built
1975–1981
In service
1980–2026
Lines
Tyne and Wear Metro
Formation
One articulated car of two sections, 91 ft 2 in (27.8 m) over the body ends, on three bogies: a motor bogie under each cab and one under the articulation; worked in pairs
Trains in fleet
90 cars (worked in pairs)
Top speed
50 mph (80 km/h)
Power
1,500 V DC overhead; two 185 kW motors (Wikipedia; 187 kW, British Trams Online) · how it works
Bogies
the Metrocars' motor bogies, under each cab end; the Metrocars' articulation bogie, under the joint between the two sections
Train length
91 ft (27.80 m)
Car height
10 ft 4 in (3.148 m)
Car width
8 ft 8 in (2.65 m)
Profile
main-line
Seats per train
64 a car (128 in a pair)
Total capacity
64 seats and 2 perch seats after refurbishment (Nexus, 2010); 64 seated and 188 standing (Wikipedia)
Status
Withdrawn: the last guaranteed passenger runs were on Friday 26 June 2026, after the Class 555s took over (Nexus). By 27 June 2026, 81 of the 90 had gone for scrap and seven remained at Gosforth (British Trams Online). Two are preserved: prototype 4001 at the Stephenson Steam Railway, Wallsend, since September 2025, and 4020, the car that carried the Queen at the Metro's official opening in 1981, at the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums, Sunderland, from 30 June 2026 (on show from 2027). 4019 is used for fire-service training at Washington.
Replaced by
Class 555

Car types

CodeCarLengthDoors per side
ASection A (with the pantograph)45 ft 9 in13.94 m2 double
BSection B45 ft 9 in13.94 m2 double

Sources

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Show the 24 sources from Wikimedia Commons, British Trams Online, Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive; released by Nexus under the Freedom of Information Act and 6 more
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