The Tyne and Wear Metro is set to benefit from new state of the art signalling technology at Gosforth Depot as part of the continued upgrade of the facility by Stadler and VolkerFitzpatrick. New digital signalling systems are to be installed with staff also due to move into a modern new control room overlooking the depot site to safely manage train access to and from the mainline.
The work is to take place over a single weekend in June to minimise disruption to passengers and other maintenance work is also to take place including track repairs from South Gosforth to Longbenton, signalling maintenance, station repairs and platform painting. The closure will be in place over the weekend of 24th and 25th June.
During the weekend the following closures will be in place:
- No services Jesmond to South Gosforth/Four Lane Ends until 1815 on Saturday 24th June
- No services South Gosforth to Airport all day Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th June
Cathy Massarella, Major Projects Director at Nexus, said: “This is an absolutely vital project to get the new Gosforth depot ready for the new Metro train fleet. A new digital signalling system is going to be installed at the depot, with the Stadler team moving into a modern, new, computerised panel room to manage train movements to and from the mainline. This really is a huge step change in the technology as we continue to get ready for the first new Metro trains entering service for customers.
“The bulk of the work packed into a single weekend, along with night shifts, in order to keep the amount of disruption to an absolute minimum. It will mean that some Metro lines will have to be closed over the weekend of 24 and 25 June. There is no good time to close a large section of the network and I apologise in advance for the inconvenience this will cause. Frequent replacement buses will be provided in areas where Metro service are not running.”
Replacement buses will run from Haymarket to Four Lane Ends and Haymarket to Airport during the weekend.