The Metro Flow project will see an existing freight line upgraded and electrified in South Tyneside, making it capable of carrying Metro services, boosting the capacity for an extra 24,000 customer journeys every day.
Three sections of single track will be dualled between Pelaw and Bede Metro stations from September 2022. The project will increase the frequency of Metro trains to one every 10 minutes outside central areas.
A total of £95m (US$128m) has been secured from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund, allowing Metro operator Nexus to deliver the scheme, which will cost £103m (US$140m) in total.
South Tyneside’s lead member for housing and transport, Cllr Jim Foreman, said, “We’re delighted to have worked alongside Nexus to have secured Transforming Cities funding for this project which will deliver huge benefits to South Tyneside and the wider region. The improvements will increase capacity and efficiency on the Metro system as well as promoting sustainable transport and supporting our decarbonization agenda.”
Cllr Martin Gannon, chair of the Northeast Joint Transport Committee, added, “The Metro Flow project will be truly transformational for people using the Tyne and Wear Metro service every day to get to work, education or leisure destinations across the region. It will offer improved journey times across the entire Metro system so I’m sure this will encourage more people to consider public transport as a clean, safe and reliable way to travel.”
The funding for the Metro Flow project also allows Nexus to buy four more new trains on top of the 42 which have already been ordered.
To find out more about the project, watch this video: