Fewer trains have been running on the Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system again tonight as operator DG Regio has withdrawn trains from service.

It’s all because the firm has found a fault with some of the doors on its Metro train fleet and they’re currently being tested with some trains being taken out of service.

With fewer trains than usual available a selection of ‘short’ services, which run to provide extra capacity in the morning and evening peaks (from 0700 to 0930 and 1630 to 1900) have been withdrawn from service in recent weeks. These short services typically have a terminating destination of Pelaw, Monkseaton or Regent Centre.

There is currently no way of telling if a specific short service train will run or not but the operator is keen to communicate that frequent service will be running systemwide. There’s also no current indication about when a full timetabled service will resume.

Tonight’s advice from Metro is that:

Trains are running to all destinations.  Some services between Pelaw and Monkseaton/Regent Centre may not operate as timetabled due to a shortage of available trains. A frequent service is running in this area with trains running every 3 to 6 minutes between Pelaw and South Gosforth and every 6 to 12 minutes between South Gosforth and Monkseaton. In all other areas trains are running every 12 minutes.

The Metro fleet consists of 90 individual cars with 78 in action at peak time weekdays and 54 at weekends.

Further details of current system running can be found at www.tyneandwearmetro.co.uk