Further £35m improvements planned for Tyne and Wear Metro in 2014

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The operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro has announced plans to spend £35 million on modernisation work in 2014.

Enhancements this year will include a track and drainage renewal at Shiremoor and Whitley Bay, station improvement work at Northumberland Park, Simonside and Pelaw, replacement of overhead lines between Heworth and Hebburn and the installation of a new train management system.

Nexus has entered the fourth year of a £389 million improvement programme funded by the Department for Transport (DfT).

The refurbishment of the system’s fleet of 86 metro cars is also expected to pass the halfway point in 2014. The renewal will be coupled [pullquote align=”right”]Over the last three years we have spent £150m on a whole range of schemes including the replacement of ageing tracks, the refurbishment of trains and stations and the installation of a new smart ticketing system.[/pullquote]with the installation of a new radio system in driver cabs.

CCTV cameras and current passenger announcement systems will also be replaced.

Director general of Nexus, Bernard Garner, said: “A huge amount of Metro modernisation work is planned for next year. The Metro all change programme is vital for securing Metro’s future and it is a scheme which has attracted significant inward investment to the region.

“Over the last three years we have spent £150m on a whole range of schemes including the replacement of ageing tracks, the refurbishment of trains and stations and the installation of a new smart ticketing system.

“The next 12 months will be just as significant as we enter the fourth year of what is an 11 year project to secure Metro’s long term future for many decades to come.”

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