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Commuters frustrated by expert's Metro praise

Getty Images A sign for the Tyne and Wear Metro. The yellow and black sign is a large cube on top of a pole. It displays the word Metro and it's M logo. A building from the Grainger Town area of Newcastle city centre stands in the background.Getty Images
The Metro has been praised for its historic successes despite its poor performance in recent years

Rail users have been left frustrated by a transport expert who praised the Tyne and Wear Metro, despite its regular faults.

Jonathan Bray, a consultant who has advised the North East Combined Authority (NECA) on its transport powers, used his blog to describe the network as "Britain's most progressive railway".

Commuter Alex Cox said the article was "clearly authored by someone who has never had to rely on the Metro".

Mr Bray defended his post and said he had taken a "long view" of the Metro's historic significance, while operator Nexus said Mr Bray had never worked for the company and said it had no involvement in the blog post.

Mr Bray argued the Metro was "the most substantial transport innovation in a post-war UK city".

"Tyne & Wear has a purpose-built, fully segregated light rail system that binds the area together," he wrote.

"A system that makes not just journeys into the centre of the city the definition of simplicity, but radial and cross-city journeys simple too."

'Not true reflection'

Mr Bray described the Metro as an "ageing system" but did not mention its depot's recent power cuts and regular train failures.

Mr Cox, a quantity surveyor from Gosforth in Newcastle, said he found the article "hilarious".

"It's not a true reflection of what has been going on," he said.

"I get the Metro daily, unfortunately, because I have an eye condition. I can't drive until I have an operation and daily there are frequent gaps in services."

He said the Metro was relying on a new fleet of trains to end its disruption but pointed out its first new train had already broken down.

Alex Cox Alex Cox. He has dark and is wearing a black suit, a white shirt and red tie. A friend's arm is draped across is shoulder.Alex Cox
Alex Cox said he had to get the Metro most days and there were frequent delays

Mr Bray said: "The blog post is clearly taking a long view.

"I was also under the impression the Metro has acknowledged the problems with failures and performance, given it's an ageing system which is currently being renewed."

NECA said Mr Bray had provided it with "a lot of useful advice" about transport policy and powers but could not confirm if he was a paid consultant.

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