Nexus who own and operate the Tyne & Wear Metro has revealed that it will carry out a £3.4m programme of work to replace track in tunnels under Newcastle‘s city centre.

The replacement scheme will futureproof the network so that it can continue to operate for years to come and will focus on a key junction, the Prudhoe Street Crossover, which is located between Monument and Haymarket stations.

The well-used section sees more than 400 trains cross it every day and marks the busiest on the network.

The project will be carried out by Smarttrax Rail and will see:

• The concrete track bed completely replaced
• Fresh concrete pumped 150 metres down to the site
• New track junction taken into the tunnels in sections before being fitted

Weekend line closures

For this complex work to be completed as safely and efficiently as possible, two weekend line closures on the 16th and 17th of March and from the 29th of March through to the 1st of April (Easter weekend) will be in place.

The work has been organised to complete ahead of major planned restoration work on the iconic Tyne Bridge.

Information for customers travelling during the line closures:

• Rail replacement buses will be in operation between Heworth and South Gosforth
• Central, Monument and Haymarket Metro stations will be closed to customers during both weekends that the Metro line is shut between Heworth and South Gosforth.
• Passengers heading to Newcastle from North Tyneside via Wallsend will need to alight the train at Manors or St. James Metro Station

Once the replacement of track for the Prudhoe Street crossing has taken place, it will mark the completion of rail renewals for Newcastle’s Metro tunnels from Jesmont to Gateshead.

This vast project has been carried out through the night over a number of years in order to keep Metro customers on the move with as little disruption as possible.

Metro’s central area tunnels are iconic and are a vital asset for the smooth operation of the network. We are investing £3.4m to replace what is a key junction in our tunnels between Haymarket and Monument.

This work will see a large section of the track completely replaced. This is the busiest junction on the Metro system, one which carries hundreds of Metro services every single day.

We’ve completed refurbishment schemes on the Prudhoe Street crossover in recent years, but now we are going in to do a full renewal.

These works have been meticulously planned. It’s a critical part of the Metro system which will be replaced over two weekend line closures to ensure the least possible amount of disruption to customers.

Stuart Clarke, Metro Infrastructure Director