£8.8 million is to be invested in the upgrade of equipment contained in the Tyne and Wear Metro control room to monitor and control key assets on the network. This is part of the continued modernisation of the Metro with £43 million being invested this year alone.
The upgrade will see new digital equipment installed replacing Metro’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (known as SCADA) which was installed in the 1990s. The current system is run from a desk in the South Gosforth Control Centre and the time has now come for it to be replaced with more modern equipment that will allow for faster and more effective fault finding – providing Metro customers with less disruptions to facilities such as lifts and escalators.
The work is being carried out by Sella Controls, the UK’s regional centre of HMA Group, a global independent provider of safety-related automation solutions for the rail and process industries. It will take two years to complete and will be the most significant upgrade to the Metro control room since the installation of a £12 million computerised signalling control system in 2018.
The SCADA system is used to manage Metro’s power supply, fire and intruder alarms, lighting, lifts, escalators and tunnel drainage pumps.
Stuart Clarke, Metro Infrastructure Director, said: “This project represents a major investment in new technology for the Metro control room. The SCADA system is essential for the safe and effective operation of the Tyne and Wear Metro system. It enables us to remotely manage the high and low voltage power supplies and other key things like lighting, lifts, escalators and fire alarms.
“The new system will allow us to resolve infrastructure issue more effectively, which will mean less disruption for our customers. We’re going to install a completely new system, which brings with it the very latest railway industry technology. It will replace a now life expired system which was fitted in the 1990s.
“It’s a complex project that will take us two years to complete but will mean a big transformation for the power desk in the Metro control room, which will be getting more advanced digital technology. There will also be lots of work at different locations right across the Metro network, including at our electrical substations.
“High voltage power is what makes the Metro run. It’s a vital system for us and one that we are investing in to ensure we have Metro system for many more years to come.”