16.07.18
Metro control room to get £12m investment in new technology
The Tyne and Wear Metro control room is to undergo a £12m programme of modernisation as part of its biggest upgrade in its 38 year history.
Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, is installing a new computerised signalling control system in the Metro control room in South Gosforth in Newcastle.
The new technology will transform the way that Metro trains are controlled, making operations more efficient and effective.
Managing Director of Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said: “This £12m project is the biggest overhaul of technology in the Metro control room for almost 40 years.The investment brings our signalling control systems into the digital age and it will be of huge benefit to Metro operations.”
Work to install RTMS will take place over a single weekend, with staff on duty to oversee the changes - and it will mean some planned disruption to Metro services.
Passenger information display screens (PIDs) across all 60 Metro stations will be affected by the work, and will need manual intervention to bring them back into use. This will be done as quickly as possible after the new system is installed.
Detailed information will be provided at each station and on the Nexus website. Audio announcements and social media updates will be made throughout the system leading up to, and during the disruption.
RTMS will provide the Tyne and Wear Metro with the same computerised signalling control system which is used on the national railways by Network Rail.
The new system will transform the current layout of the Metro Control Room.
The iconic Metro control room display board and button system will be replaced by a new service view consisting of five 65 inch plasma screens.
The RTMS system is being supplied to Nexus by a specialist company called Resonate, based in Derby, specialising in rail technology and transport solutions.
The project is being funded as part of the £350m Metro: all change modernisation programme.
Philip Meikle, transport strategy director at Nexus, will be speaking at TransCityRail North on 4 October 2018. Don't miss your chacne to attend: visit the website here.
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