Metro operators from some of the world’s largest cities have gathered in North East England for an international conference focused on sharing knowledge, innovation and operational best practice across urban rail networks.
Nexus hosted the Community of Metros (COMET) Annual Western Conference at its new headquarters, The Spark, in Newcastle, welcoming 42 delegates representing metro systems from 17 cities across Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
The three-day event brought together senior industry leaders and transport professionals for a programme of roundtable discussions, operational updates and strategic presentations examining the challenges and opportunities facing urban transit networks worldwide.
Delegates also visited key Nexus facilities, including Gosforth Metro Depot, where they were given the opportunity to view the new Stadler-built Tyne and Wear Metro fleet, and the Nexus Learning Centre in South Shields, which plays a central role in workforce training and skills development.
The conference forms part of COMET’s ongoing programme of international collaboration, with member cities hosting annual events on a rotating basis to encourage benchmarking, knowledge exchange and the sharing of best practice across metro operations.
Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus, said hosting the event provided an important opportunity to showcase the region’s transport network while learning from international counterparts.
“We’re honoured to have hosted this COMET conference right here in our region,” she said.
“It brought together metro operators from around the world so that we could benchmark our services and share knowledge, ideas and innovations from across the global light rail industry.
“We welcomed delegates to North East England from North America, Europe, South America and Asia. It’s great to see how other operators are doing and what we can learn from each other.”
Massarella added that participation in COMET reinforces the Tyne and Wear Metro’s position among a select group of global cities operating major urban mass transit systems.
“Nexus is proud to be a member of the COMET group as the operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro, which cements our place in that unique club of world cities to run an urban light rail mass transit system,” she said.
The international nature of the event highlighted the growing importance of collaboration across the global public transport sector as operators face common challenges around decarbonisation, network modernisation, passenger growth, workforce development and the adoption of new technologies.
Delegates travelled from countries including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, India, Norway, Portugal, Spain, France and Taiwan.
Cities represented at the conference included Buenos Aires, Washington DC, New Delhi, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Oslo, Ottawa, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Tokyo, Taipei and Vancouver.
The event also provided an opportunity for Nexus to showcase the significant investment being made in the Tyne and Wear Metro network, particularly the introduction of the new Stadler fleet, one of the most significant rolling stock replacement programmes currently underway in the UK light rail sector.
As urban transport systems continue to evolve, forums such as COMET are increasingly important in helping operators share lessons learned, identify emerging trends and accelerate innovation through international collaboration.
For the North East, hosting the conference reinforces the region’s reputation as a centre for rail and light rail expertise, while providing valuable opportunities to strengthen relationships with operators from across the global metro community.
