Tyne & Wear Metro builds on its German roots

摘要

Tynemouth stares out across the North Sea to where the ferries come in to Newcastle from the Continent. It is appropriate, because this is the quarter from which the railway technology in this corner of the North East of England originated. Tynesiders are fiercely loyal to the Tyne & Wear Metro, regarding it as Geordie as stotties and brown ale. But in its technical roots Metro relies on German expertise. The boxy light rail vehicles, although put together by Metro Cammell in Birmingham in the 1970s, were constructed to a design from German firm Linke Hoffman Busch. For signalling, Metro uses the German Indusi system, and the units have track brakes -just like Continental light rail networks.