Metros unable to run under flyover until 2025

Metros will unable to run safely underneath a closed flyover until "early in the new year".

The Tyne and Wear Metro was suspended between Heworth and Monument on Thursday evening effectively cutting the route in half, because of concerns over the Gateshead flyover.

Gateshead Council said it was "working round the clock to find an interim solution to reinforce sections of the closed Gateshead Highway to enable Metro trains to use the tunnel underneath".

It added engineers were working with Nexus on the "feasibility of these plans, with the potential for this work to be complete early in the new year".

North East mayor Kim McGuinness confirmed that she, Gateshead MP Mark Ferguson, and council leader Martin Gannon would meet with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander on Monday.

Concerns have also been raised about how operator Nexus will be able to maintain the carriages currently stranded south of the river and keep them functioning until the route reopens.

Nexus said services were running on the Sunderland line between Pelaw and South Hylton and Pelaw and South Shields at a reduced frequency and it hoped to maintain this for "as long as possible".

Managing director Cathy Massarella said Nexus needed "to be realistic about the impact of this closure" and it was unable to maintain trains south of the river, impacting the performance of the trains.

Nexus infrastructure director Stuart Clarke said the flyover needed to be stabilised before the service could run again and that it would reopen "whatever [Gateshead Council's] decisions might be" about its future.

Mr Clarke told BBC Radio Newcastle one of the solutions Nexus and the council was looking at was to prop up the flyover so services could resume "quickly".

He said he could not give a timescale "just yet".

To cope with the disruption, the following arrangements have been put in place:

• Metro tickets are being accepted on all Go North East buses except X10

• A "limited" bus replacement service 900 is operating between Monument and Heworth

• Following a separate overhead line issue, services between Airport and Kingston Park, in both directions, remain suspended. Metro passes and tickets will be accepted on Stagecoach X77, X78, X47 and Arriva 777

• Nexus has asked customers to plan their journeys in advance and leave extra time for travelling

Customers queuing for replacement buses reacted to the travel problems, with one telling the BBC: "Well it's a bit of a joke.

"I've got a pram and it's easy to get it on the Metro, not so much on a busy bus."

Another person said: "It's not been a big deal, I left a bit earlier and I'm used to getting a replacement bus. They've been pretty punctual."

Mr Clarke said: "We're really aware of the significant disruption it's causing but we've got to put safety first.

"We will get through it."

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