The Tyne and Wear Metro line between South Gosforth and the Airport will close for five days to allow a £1.6 million programme of overhead line renewal work to take place. The line closure will be in place from Monday 20th to Friday 24th March.
During this closure new overhead will be installed along a 3km section. This is part of £36.4 million wire renewal programme which started in 2011 and should be completed by 2025. In total 106km of wire is being replaced – described as one of the biggest maintenance projects ever undertaken on the network.
Stuart Clarke, Metro Infrastructure Director, said: “This is vital investment in new Metro infrastructure ahead of welcoming our new trains. The work to replace such a long stretch of overhead line can only be carried out safely during a major line closure. This will be in place for five full days, March 20 to March 24. Customers travelling through the affected area are advised to plan journeys in advance and allow time to make their journeys. I understand this causes some disruption, and we always try to make closures as short as possible and to provide a good replacement bus service when there are lines affected, but it is necessary to make sure that the Metro system is fit for the future.
“This is the same wire that was installed 40 years ago when Metro was first opened so it has become worn and more prone to failure. If it fails then that becomes disruptive to the services that we provide, so by renewing the wire this is an investment in helping to ensure that the Metro stays as reliable as possible for years to come. The work involves the old wires being unclipped and then taken down and then the new wire is put up. We then do a process called registration which involves getting the wire into the precise locations that it needs to be in before we do tests and assurances so that we can allow the trains to start running again.”
A frequent replacement bus (service 900) will run during the closure calling at or near to all Metro stations on the route.
The Fawdon level crossing will be closed throughout to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic with a diversion in place. A shuttle taxi service will be in service for pedestrians to transfer to each side of the crossing if they need transport.