A significant junction on the Tyne and Wear Metro will undergo a complete replacement over five days of extensive line closure, ensuring the service’s longevity for years ahead.

Nexus, the organization responsible for the Metro, is planning to upgrade the junction at Pelaw, which is a crucial intersection and among the most heavily used sections on the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with 400 trains passing through this junction per day.

Buses will substitute trains for five consecutive days between Gateshead Stadium and South Shields, as well as between Gateshead Stadium and South Hylton.

This indicates that the Metro services on the lines passing through South Tyneside to South Shields, and through Sunderland to South Hylton, will be suspended from 28th October to 1st November. In their place, frequent replacement bus services will operate.

The recent significant project is included in the £43 million that Nexus is allocating to Metro infrastructure modernization initiatives this year. which included a nine day closure of the Tyne & Wear system in the Manors area over the summer and completion of the new Gosforth depot earlier this year.

Nexus has scheduled the planned closure to coincide with the school half-term break, aiming to reduce disruption.

Additionally, the five-day period will encompass other essential maintenance tasks such as track drainage, cable repairs, and track alignment.

Customers should plan their journeys in advance and allocate additional time for travel through impacted areas.

Metro services will resume on the affected lines on Saturday, 2 November.

“This is a significant modernisation project and part of our multi-million pound asset renewal programme, which involves the complete replacement of one the busiest Metro track junctions on the system at Pelaw.

We’re sorry for the inconvenience this may cause to our customers and we urge them to plan ahead and allow extra time to travel when these lines are closed.

There is no good time to close such large sections of line, but we need a five-day window to get it done safely, ensuring a vital set of points located at Pelaw junction are renewed.

We’ve planned the works into the half term break and are taking the opportunity to deliver a range of other Metro modernisation tasks to ensure future closures in this area won’t be needed as frequently.

We will ensure customers are provided with frequent replacement buses in the affected areas so that they can still travel around.

While the buses won’t be quite as quick as Metro services, they will get everyone where they need to be during the closure.”

Stuart Clarke, Nexus’ Infrastructure Director