Tyne and Wear Metro services are set to resume on Friday night after damaged overhead power lines caused the central section of the network to shut down for more than 24 hours.
All trains between South Gosforth and Heworth have been cancelled since Thursday morning in yet another blow to passengers left frustrated by a festive season dominated by travel chaos in the North East. Metro operator Nexus has confirmed that engineers have now managed to repair overhead cables near Haymarket station in Newcastle city centre. Train services are expected to return to their usual routes on Friday, though a specific time has not yet been confirmed.
The problem, which led to Nexus teams working through the night to make repairs, was compounded by a vehicle hitting a Metro bridge at Felling.
Metro users have endured a torrid couple of weeks. After the excitement of the launch of the first new Metro train on December 18, all services across the River Tyne had to be shut off the following day due to the concerns surrounding the structural integrity of the Gateshead Flyover and fears that it could collapse if underground trains continued to run beneath it.
That issue was resolved when work to prop up a flyover pillar directly above the Metro tunnels was completed in time for trains to start running again on New Year’s Eve. But there was yet more frustration for city centre shoppers and commuters returning to work on Thursday, January 2, when the overhead line damaged at Haymarket emerged and once again cut off a vital transport link across the river.
A Nexus spokesperson said: “Works to repair damaged overhead lines in the Haymarket area have been successfully completed. We are now working on removing a failed train from the tunnel and plan to resume service as soon as we can this evening, although not to timetable.
“The replacement bus service will continue to operate between Heworth and Regent Centre until end of service today. Please do leave extra time for your journey if you’re travelling. All the latest information can be found on the Nexus website, the Pop App, and on the Metro’s X page (formerly Twitter) @My_Metro. Thank you for your patience.”
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
