Light Rail Transit Association

Tyne & Wear Metro funding : The Government has confirmed that it will award Nexus (Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive) around GBP580 million to modernise and operate the Tyne and Wear Metro. Most of the money, up to GBP350 million pounds, will be spent on the Metro’s all change modernisation programme over the next 11 years. The remaining GBP230 million will support Metro’s running and maintenance costs over the next nine years.

Initially the money will allow Nexus to modernise 12 stations, including Central, install new escalators at Monument, new lifts at key interchanges, renew more than 11km of track and 34 bridges, lay 60,000 metres of new cabling and oversee the refurbishment of the Metrocars. This is in addition to existing programmes to modernise Sunderland and Haymarket stations, to be completed this year, and the installation of new ticket machines at every station capable of selling ‘smart’ tickets backed by online purchase.

As part of the funding settlement a new contractor, DB Regio Tyne and Wear Limited, has signed a contract to operate stations and trains on behalf of Nexus from 1 April 2010. It has committed to a number of improvement including increasing the frequency of service and the refurbishment of all 90 Metrocars.

4 February 2010