Metro control room to get £8.8m upgrade
NexusAn £8.8m upgrade to a rail control centre will help reduce disruption for passengers, its operator has said.
Updates will be made to the 30-year-old technology at the Tyne and Wear Metro control room in South Gosforth, which manages the power supply, fire and intruder alarms, lighting, lifts, escalators and tunnel drainage pumps.
To reduce the impact on customers and avoid busy travel times, the work is being planned around upcoming bank holidays, Metro operator Nexus said.
Stuart Clarke, infrastructure director at Nexus, said: "This project is a major investment in new technology for our Metro control room at South Gosforth and is vital for Metro's long-term future."
The current supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) was installed in the mid-1990s and is reaching the end of its lifespan.
Nexus said the digital upgrade would allow it to identify faults faster.
It said the current system would remain switched on during the upgrade until the new one was fully up and running.
The operator said the work would be the "most significant" upgrade to the Metro control room since the installation of a £12m computerised signalling control system in 2018.
Clarke said the SCADA was essential for the safe and effective operation of the Metro and the new system would allow Nexus to resolve infrastructure issues "more effectively" with "less disruption" for customers.
Apologising for any disruption caused during the work, he said some late and early closures would be required to switch across to the new digital equipment, but customers would be provided with replacement buses.
When will the work take place?
There will be no trains system-wide, on the dates and times below:
- Easter Monday 6 April - 05:00 GMT to 10:00
- Sunday 3 May - from 20:30 (no trains running between Pelaw – South Hylton all day)
- Monday 4 May - until 10.30 (no trains running between Pelaw – South Hylton all day)
Customers are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys.
