Metro teams preparing for 'regular rush hour service' to return next week

The Tyne and Wear transport system has been running at reduced capacity for several weeks due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions and staff self-isolating.

But with measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 being relaxed and the government encouraging workers back to offices and factories, the network is gearing up for a rise in passenger numbers.

RELATED: Metro bosses urge passengers to wear face masks when travelling on public transport

“We’ve been slowly increasing the level of our services over the last couple of weeks,” said Tobyn Hughes, managing director at Nexus, which runs Metro services.

“By Monday we’ll be providing a regular rush hour service during the day, so that’s about a train every three minutes through the centre of [Newcastle].

“That’s as many trains as we actually have train drivers to provide, so we will be able to carry quite a few people.

“But we will need people to stay away, whilst we have to keep the two-metre gap between people on board trains and on stations.”

Hughes, who has been in the Nexus top job since 2014, was speaking on yesterday’s (Tuesday, May 12) edition of the BBC Radio 4 PM show.

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He also revealed the number of commuters on the network has fallen to about 5,000 per day, a fraction of the 100,000 usually using the service across Tyne and Wear.

Earlier this week (Monday, May 11), Metro bosses urged passengers to follow government guidelines to start wearing face coverings when travelling on the service, calling the measure a ‘small step we can all take to help fight coronavirus’.

Nexus also confirmed it was issuing protective visors for its frontline Metro staff, as well as its workers at bus stations and on the Shields Ferry.

Last month (April) it was revealed plummeting numbers of travellers on the network was costing it about £1 million per week, with an £8.6 million government bailout deemed ‘not enough’ to secure its future.

Hughes added demand was unlike to return to normal ‘anytime soon’ and raised the prospect of queues to enter stations and board trains.

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