07.03.08
Nexus announces new Metro station
Nexus has announced that its new Metro station at Simonside on South Tyneside will open to passengers on Monday March 17.
The £3.2m project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, will offer the residents of Simonside five trains an hour in each direction - towards South Shields and Newcastle and Gateshead.
Major building work on the site is complete and contractors for Nexus, the Metro operator, are now just applying all the necessary finishing touches.
Engineers are carrying out finals tests on the communication systems comprising CCTV, Help Points, the public address system and electronic passenger information displays.
Simonside will be the 60th station to open on the Tyne and Wear Metro network, which is now almost 28 years-old. The opening of Simonside comes just over two years after Nexus opened a new Metro station at Northumberland Park, on North Tyneside, which has been used by more than a million passengers.
Director General of Nexus, Bernard Garner, said: “I’m pleased to announce that we are ready to open our new Metro station at Simonside on March 17.
“Metro will greatly improve public transport links in the local area. The station will serve a large residential area offering five trains in each direction per hour during the day direct to South Shields town centre, Gateshead, Sunderland, and into Newcastle city centre.
“The station will help local people gain access to work, learning opportunities, health care, shopping and other activities and essential amenities. It’s particularly good news for local residents who don’t have a car and rely on public transport to get around.”
The development forms the first part of ambitious plans for the future of Metro put together by Nexus, which is seeking £600m to modernise the system over 20 years.
Plans for South Tyneside include dualling the track to Pelaw, rebuilding South Shields station with new enclosed waiting areas, introducing a new fleet of trains and new ticketing machines and electronic ticket barriers using the latest technology.
Nexus carried out a full public consultation before pressing ahead with the plans for the new Metro station at Simonside and the scheme was given overwhelming support.
The contractor who built the new Metro station at Simonside is Balfour Beatty.
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