Tyne & Wear Metro core closed for weeks

The discovery that a Gateshead road viaduct built in the 1960s is in danger of collapse has led to the severing of cross-Tyne services on the Tyne & Wear Metro. This is because the flyover is immediately above the shallow subway carrying the metro through Gateshead, and if the viaduct collapses it would breach the tunnel roof. Cross-Tyne Metro service ceased on 19 December with no trains on the section between Monument and Heworth. Service south of the Tyne from Howarth to South Shields and Sunderland/South Halton is being maintained using trains that were stranded south of the closure. However thee is no depot facility on these lines and trains will have to be withdrawn as essential maintenance becomes due. Metro’s maintenance depot is at Gosforth north of the Tyne. Metro is discussing with maintenance provider Stadler the options for carrying out some maintenance south of the Tyne. 

 

Gateshead Council engineers are working on plans to strengthen parts of the A617 viaduct (plans to demolish the flyover have been discussed, but no funding is available); however such work is unlikely to be completed until early in 2025 at best. A replacement bus service is running between Monument and Heworth. 

 

The disruption to Metro services came just a day after the first of 46 new trains being delivered by Stadler carried passengers for the first time. The over 40-year old existing fleet of Metro-Cammell cars is becoming increasingly unreliable, with spare parts hard to source. Availability has fallen as low as 75% on occasions, leading to fines for Stadler, which is also responsible for their maintenance.