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 | | Monday, 1 April, 2002, 12:50 GMT 13:50 UK Metro system extended to Sunderland  The Metro extension has cost �100m After waiting 20 years for the Tyne and Wear Metro to be extended to their city, passengers in Sunderland have welcomed the light railway system to Wearside. All but one of the new stations in Sunderland and South Tyneside have opened to the public, though final work still has to be done to complete most of the stations. Twelve new stations have been added on the nine-mile extension line, which runs from the existing Pelaw Station in South Tyneside. The Sunderland extension will have more than 200 Metros serving Wearside every day, running every 10 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes in the evening. 'Affordable travel' A television, radio, and poster campaign has been launched to attract passengers on to the multi-million pound system. Mike Parker, Director General of Nexus, which operates the Metro service, said it was "marvellous" news for Sunderland. He said: "The new Metro extension will serve more than 90,000 households in Sunderland and will open the city to 750,000 people in the rest of Tyne and Wear.
"The people of Sunderland will be able to enjoy the benefits of affordable travel for shopping, leisure, work and college." The Sunderland extension is a Public Private Partnership between Railtrack and Nexus - the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. Six strikes It has cost �100m, much of the cash coming from European Regional funding. The extension has not been without problems, with the lead contractors going into administration, and train drivers threatening strikes in April and May. About 80 train drivers are expected to strike on Tuesday, threatening up to 40% of Metro services on what will be the first chance for Sunderland commuters to use the Metro. The Aslef union plans six one-day strikes over a 5% pay claim and an extra day's holiday, putting into doubt the Queen's official opening of the extension on 7 May. The strikes will be held on 2, 8, 15, 22 April and 3 and 7 May. | |   See also: Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top England stories now:  Links to more England stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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