Work on the new £70m depot for the Tyne and Wear Metro in Gosforth, Newcastle, has reached a new milestone.

Demolition work on the first phase, which started in March, has been completed and involved removing three sections of depot sidings along with an area of the main depot building.

Waste material from the demolition works has been crushed and will be recycled for use on building a road at the depot.

VolkerFitzpatrick, who are the construction partners of Stadler, will soon be ready to start laying the foundations for new tracks, with work on foundations for the main building set to begin in July.

The first trains for the Tyne & Wear Metro are set to begin arriving in 2023; a mockup of the cab for the new trains was unveiled back in March.

Part two of the demolition works, which are being carried out by Thompsons of Prudhoe, will see an old stabling shed removed later this year, with phases 3 and 4 taking place in 2022 and 2023.

Metro Development Director, Neil Blagburn, said: “Excellent progress has been made getting the site ready for our new £70m Metro fleet depot in Gosforth.

“The last few months has seen the partial demolition of the 100 year-old train shed, creating room to get the site ready for the new buildings and infrastructure. Around x acres of the original depot’s sidings have been removed, paving the way for the first foundations to start going in.

“The completed project will provide a modern new home for the new Metro train fleet. These are the first steps on a really historic journey that will secure the future of the Tyne and Wear Metro for many generations to come.

“Our thanks go to Stadler, VolkerFitzpatrick and Thompsons of Prudhoe for getting this phase of the project off to such a good start.

“The old depot buildings will be pulled down in phases over the next two years. We are storing up to a quarter of our current trains at our purpose-built satellite depot in Howdon while the depot transformation takes place.”

Rob Baxter, managing director at Stadler Rail Service UK, said: “The project to build a new depot has been configured to enable the existing trains to continue successfully operating from it, while construction work takes place. This is a challenge, but I am delighted that the project has maintained momentum despite the pandemic and that so much progress has already been made.”

Marcus Dench, VolkerFitzpatrick senior project manager, said: “Our team has made great progress so far, having completed phase one of the demolition works, and we are now ready to start works to install the foundations needed to support the depot’s new roads. We’d like to thank all parties involved, who have worked hard to not only ensure we comply with coronavirus restrictions, but who have also ensured that we keep the site as sustainable as possible.”

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