A new video has now been produced that showcases a £20m project. This project is to replace miles of power lines overhead on the Tyne and Wear Metro system.
Nexus, the public body of which manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, is the public body that is renewing their overhead lines as part of the modernisation programme costing £350m.
The wire being replaced measures a total of 106 Kilometres and is being replaced in a rolling programme, this is one of the largest maintenance projects to be undertaken on Metro to date.
A total of 106 kilometres of wire is being replaced in a rolling programme, which is one of the biggest maintenance projects ever undertaken on Metro.
The project is being delivered only through working during weekend periods, not during weekdays.
In one singular weekend's worth of working a stretch of new wire measuring 1 Kilometre is able to be installed.
These Overhead lines are the lines that are used in order to conduct electricity to the trains. Without the overhead lines, the trains simply wouldn't run because of a lack of electricity.
These power lines have been in place since the Tyne and Wear Metro was first built – which is why this current renewal work is so essential to the Metro and the services provided.
The new video can be viewed below:
Managing Director of Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said:
“Over the last nine years Nexus has spent £300m renewing the infrastructure of the Metro system and this project renewing overhead lines is one of the biggest in all of that.
“It is about £20m in total and it will take several years to get across the system renewing these overhead wires.
“We always try to do this work at weekends because there are fewer passengers using the system and not as many people travelling to work.
“I understand that it causes some disruption for customers 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.”
Head of Renewals at Nexus, Stuart Clarke, who is in charge of overseeing the project said:
“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 decades to come.
“The work involves the old wires being clipped 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.”
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Similar to what is happening with Network Rail replacing overhead wires on the Southend Victoria Line in Essex.