Services on the Tyne and Wear Metro in the Gosforth area will be suspended for two weekends over the next month to allow for a major programme of track renewal to happen. Tracks – including the junction – will be replaced between South Gosforth and Regent Centre over the weekends of 12th/13th and 5th/6th March which will mean there are no trains between Airport and South Gosforth.
The work will see sections of track, sleepers and ballast completely replaced at a key access point which serves the current and future depot at Gosforth. Closing the line over two weekends for this work will enable to it take place in the safest, most cost effective and least disruptive way.
Cathy Massarella, Major Projects Director at Nexus, said: “We are carrying out vital track renewal work between Regent Centre and South Gosforth over two weekends as part of our modernisation programme. We are replacing a key section of line which serves the Metro depot. The junction there will be vital for getting the new trains in and out of the new £70m Gosforth depot, which is really starting to take shape. These works will secure the future of Metro for many years to come. There is no good time to close a large section of the network, but we are working at weekends when customer numbers are lower in order to keep the level of disruption to a minimum.”
The work takes place on 12th/13th February and 5th/6th March with no trains from Airport to South Gosforth during these two weekends. An accessible bus service will be in operation for passengers instead.