The final remnants of the old buildings at the Tyne and Wear Metro Depot at Goforth have been demolished. The buildings, some of which date to the opening of the depot in 1923, have been removed to make way for the new state of the art facilities being built for Stadler to maintain the new fleet of trains, the first of which have already been delivered.
The final sections to be demolished were sections of the former maintenance sheds and the office block. His will now allow for new sidings to be installed as storage space for the new trains. A total of 17 new sidings will be created.
Michael Richardson, Head of Fleet and Depot Replacement at Nexus, said: “All of the old Metro depot buildings have now been demolished, which marks the end of an era for Metro, and the start of a new one as we look ahead to our new trains. The office block and maintenance sheds had been home to Metro for more than four decades. What we have replaced them with is a transformative new maintenance hub for the new Stadler train fleet, which boasts modern facilities which secure Metro’s long term future. Work will now continue on the sidings that will be used to store the new trains at Gosforth as more of them start to arrive. This is happening alongside the testing of the first new trains which have been delivered to us by Stadler.”
The new Gosforth Depot has been designed to ensure maximum availability and reliability of the Metro fleet for decades to come. It includes the installation of overhead lines, inspection gantries, wheel lathes and lifting jacks.
Its vastly improves the working environment and becomes home to a wide range of activities, including preventative and corrective maintenance, overhauls and train presentation. There will also be storage space for spare parts and material supplies and office space for training and support functions.