Platform issue still not addressed five years on
NexusWork to make a platform safe for a new fleet of Metro trains is yet to be completed five years after it was commissioned.
Nexus, which operates the Metro in Tyne and Wear, said tracks at Sunderland station's platform two would need to be raised by about 4in (10cm) before its new Class 555 trains could safely use it.
The company launched a £2m programme in 2020 to adjust the height of tracks to ensure that new trains, which have a sliding step at every door, would fit smoothly into platforms.
The new trains will be temporarily using other platforms at Sunderland station until the issue is sorted.
Costs unknown
The new Metro trains entered service on the line between Sunderland and Newcastle International Airport for the first time on Tuesday.
This was two months later than they began on the South Shields to St James route, with the snag at Sunderland station blamed for the delay, the Local Democracy Reporting service said.
Metro services heading towards South Hylton will be using platform one, which is usually used by Northern trains, until the issue is resolved.
Northbound Metro services towards Newcastle have not been affected and will continue to use platform three.
Nexus said the cost of the required works remained unknown and none of its 60 other stations were currently affected by the problem.
Paul Welford, major projects director at Nexus, said the firm was working with Network Rail, who own the track, to resolve it.
Half of the Metro's 46 new trains are due to be in service by the end of 2025, with the entire new fleet being rolled out over the next two years.