The Government's bailout for light rail systems including the Tyne and Wear Metro "runs into millions", Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has pledged.
But he also made it clear that services will have to be reduced.
Mr Shapps said: "These systems are running way below ordinary capacity, and quite rightly because people are following the social distancing 'please don't go out unless you need to' instructions.
"So it is a case of finding a route with them which allows them to remain viable entities but not continue to run exactly the same service that they run at the moment."
He spoke after the Department for Transport announced it would provide support for rail systems in Sheffield, Manchester, West Midlands, Nottingham and Tyne and Wear, which are threatened with closure because the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have led to a dramatic cut in fare income.
Nexus, the body that manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, has warned it needs a £10 million bailout to continue running until July.
The Department for Transport said it was "working with local authorities to identify what support is needed to allow essential services to continue." However, it has not revealed how much funding will be provided.
ChronicleLive pushed Mr Shapps for more details when we questioned him during the daily Downing Street press conference.
He told us: "I don't have the actual figure for you because we are still in discussions with the various different systems, and also discussing the level to which they should be continuing to provide a service, and also other assistance that they are able to access.
"This is a package that runs into the millions. It's not a small endeavour to do this."
The Transport Secretary added: "We are actively in touch with them. I think it's good news today that we have announced there is going to be a multi-million pound package to ensure that those light rail systems, which are excellent in all cases, can continue."
Trains are still running to help NHS staff and other key workers get around. Tyne and Wear’s council leaders and MPs have complained for weeks that the Government had bailed out private rail and bus companies, while not offering any help for the Metro.
In a statement issued before the press conference, A Nexus spokesman said: “We are pleased that Government has confirmed there will be funding, but we had already been told this.
“We now need to know with some urgency what the details of the financial package are.
"Our Metro system has been taking NHS staff and other key workers to their essential jobs ever since the lockdown began, and it is costing us almost £1m a week to do so.
“The Metro system needs to be ready to support the economy when the Government starts to lift the lockdown. We can only plan for this if we know that we have enough money to pay staff wages and carry out maintenance.”
Coun Martin Gannon, chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: “We told them weeks ago exactly what we needed, we have shared all the details of the Metro system.
“It is beyond comprehension, impossible, to mothball the Metro – the implications would be disastrous for the North East economy.”
