Meet the engineer who helped to design Metro’s original train fleet

Phil Watts is the man who helped to design the Metro trains, which served the region for 46 years.

Phil worked on the project from 1969 to 1979. He helped formulate the Metro route and wrote the specifications for the trains that would go on to become part of everyday life for millions of people.

He was part of a team of pioneers who took Metro from a concept and made it become a reality.

Phil, 82, who lives in Birmingham, returned to the North East and got the opportunity to visit Gosforth Metro Depot to see the last few remaining Class 599 Metro trains.

The old fleet completed its final guaranteed journeys on Friday 26 June – marking the end of era for the region. It has carried 1.7 billion customer journeys since entering service in August 1980 and clocked up half a billion kilometres.

Phil said: “It was amazing to come back after all these years and see the last few old Metro trains before they go.

“They have served the region well. I’m proud to have played my part in the development of them.

“There is obviously a lot of sentiment for the old Metro fleet. I share this, because this was my first large project and the trains have remained in service for so long. Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that trains have a lifespan, and now it is time for new ones. The technology has changed beyond all recognition.

“They helped to transform local public transport. To be involved in the project in those early days is something I’m very fond of. We managed to beat other UK cities to get a Metro system funded and built.”

Phil moved to Newcastle from Manchester work on the Metro fleet project.

He added: “I joined the PTE in late 1969 as a planning assistant. I was part of the team who took the project from a concept to being ready to start detailed design and construction. It was fascinating.

“The idea of a Metro system was initially just a glint in the eye of the PTE. Approval was there at local level but there was no Parliamentary approval for the construction and no Government finance. The work of the team was concentrated on filling in the detail of the proposed routes and the justification for the grants required.

“Once the full funding was in place it was my job to take the board’s requirements for a ‘metro ‘and translate them into specifications that could be then used to obtain tenders, firstly for the two prototypes, and later the full fleet of 90 carriages.

“The key to Metro was the principle of taking the control of the local rail network away from the then nationalised railway, simplifying it, and integrating it better into the local transport system. It was this principle adopted by Manchester with the Metrolink system and then the tramway in Nottingham.

“I remember doing a great amount of work on identifying the overall dimensions for the trains, and particularly the platform to train interface aspect. The intent was level access and the minimum gap.

“A Birmingham based train manufacturer called Metro-Cammell got the job of building the trains.

“We worked closely with all the manufacturers, reviewing their designs and proposals.  The creation of the test track in North Tyneside gave us the experience and opportunity to test different equipment in a railway environment.  Part of the test programme required us to cover as much distance as possible.

“We all took the opportunity to drive the prototypes, which is another special memory. They were great days and our work made a real difference.

“It was in 1979 I got the chance to work in the Hong Kong, and it was an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. However, I watched with great pride as the Metro opened the following year, in the summer of 1980.

“That train fleet has given the people of the North East 46 years of great service.”