Metro passenger raises handrail accident fears

A PENSIONER worries that a lack of overhead handrails on the new Tyne and Wear Metro trains could present a major safety concern.

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

Peter Moore fears it is only a matter of time before someone has an accident on the Swiss-built trains because there is nothing for people to hold on to. While the old Metro fleet has overhead horizontal handrails running most of the length of its carriages and equipped with grab handles, some passengers have been left concerned by the absence of an equivalent on the new models now being rolled out on to tracks.

Instead, the vast majority of the yellow grab poles dotted through the Stadler fleet run vertically. Numerous Metro users who have spoken out since the first new train entered service last December have aired complaints about the design claiming there are not enough rails to help passengers, particularly older people, steady themselves when standing on their journey.