Tyne and Wear Metro will see a five-day closure put in place from the 31st of July to the 4th of August between Benton to North Shields.
The closure will allow work as part of Metro's ongoing £36.4 million Wire Renewal Programme to be carried out and will see new overhead line installed over a 2km section of the line.
The huge project will see 106km of wire replaced and marks one of Metro's biggest maintenance projects to date starting back in 2011 and with completion set to take place during 2025.
The period of work will see a stretch of line between Tynemouth and Monkseaton undergo overhead line renewal and, due to this requiring high voltage power to be switched off, a closure has been put in place.
In order to make the most of the line closure, further work will also be completed, including:
- Signalling upgrades
- Track renewal
- Station improvements
- Vegetation clearance
During the period of work, a rail replacement bus service – 900 will offer frequent services and will call at or close to all the Metro stations from North Shields to Four Lane Ends.
Saturday, the 5th of August, will see the line between Benton and North Shields open for rail services once again.
Metro Infrastructure Director, Stuart Clark, said: “This is vital investment in new Metro infrastructure in North Tyneside, ahead of welcoming our new trains into service.”
“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, 31 July to 4 August.”
“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.”
