Update June 2000

With the confirmation of Government funding in January, Nexus commenced work on the Metro extension from Pelaw to Sunderland (over active Railtrack tracks) and onwards through the suburbs of the new city over the track bed of the abandoned Durham branch to South Hylton. There is a very tight timescale since civil engineering work is to be completed during the summer of 2001 and public services are expected to commence on 13 January 2002.

The scheme falls naturally into two parts - Pelaw to Sunderland, and Sunderland to South Hylton. Railtrack will be responsible for the upgrading of the track on the first segment and this will be used by a mixture of heavy and lighter rail vehicles.The TWPS warning system will be fitted along this first section. Nexus will have six paths per hour each way for metro trains. Railtrack will have three paths per hour for longer distance dmu worked heavy rail trains. Several freight services will operate over the section each day. The track connection from the existing metro services at Pelaw will be by means of a flying junction from the South Shields tracks ensuring that there is no conflict with the anticipated heavy freight traffic expected from the soon to be reopened Leamside route. Metro trains will call at the existing stations, Brockley Whins, East Boldon, and Seaburn, all of which will be upgraded and will then resemble the stops on earlier metro routes. Additional stops will be provided at Fellgate (an extensive housing area which has been crying out for a station for literally decades), Stadium of Light (close to the new Sunderland FC ground - the architecture here will reflect the style of the new stadium) - and St Peter's (adjacent to the former Monkwearmouth stop which is now a museum).

Sunderland station is a special case. At present the underground facility is dark and spooky. There are two island platforms, the western of the pair being out of use and unlit. The station will be rebuilt with a single much wider island platform, and the lighting will be greatly improved. Lifts and possibly escalators will take passengers to a greatly improved concourse and the surface building will be replaced by a much more stylish structure.

In mid June the most obvious signs of activity were the reconstruction of a major overbridge at Seaburn to give clearance for the overhead wires, and the erection of scaffolding within Sunderland station allowing repair work to the roof girders to be undertaken.

On the second section there was great activity in June. The right of way had not been built over to any significant degree but a footpath/cyclepath ran along parts near the University, material had been dumped over the trackbed at various locations to raise the level, and dense vegetation occupied the deep cutting beyond Pallion. One underbridge had been filled in but the structure of the bridge remained intact. Virtually the entire route had been cleared, and the dumped materials removed by June 2000. A description of what is now to be done along the second segment follows.

The route leaves the Railtrack tracks just south of Sunderland station and the first stop is to be atPark Lane, immediately underneath the city's bus station, thus ensuring excellent coordination of services. Work has begun on the foundations of this station. The route enters a shallow cutting past the University where there will be a key stop. A graceful footbridge will cross the line at this point taking people to the University, and the cyclepath is to be reconstructed alongside the Nexus tracks rather as has happened with Midland Metro. A considerable amount of earth moving has been completed here but work has not yet commenced on the station itself. Millfield will be in a densely populated inner suburb and handy connections will be possible with the bus services. The station will be in a deep cutting which has been cleared of dumped earth, and vegetation. The track bed then rises on to an embankment coming quite close to the Wear and Pallion station will be high up above a newish industrial area (in which the extension offices are located) though some housing is also nearby. A new road has eroded the embankment to some extent so a retaining wall is being built. Various services are being moved including a major gas main. Beyond Pallion the line enters a deep rock cutting - almost a canyon in places - which had been full of trees and shrubs. These have all been cleared and the track bed seems to be in pretty good condition. Eventually the route reaches South Hylton, where a single platform terminus will suffice. The community is not large but this will be a key park and ride facility for many workers seeking an alternative way to reach the heart of Sunderland without using the jam packed roads.

What will it cost? The total cost will be just £98m of which Railtrack will provide £40.4m. The Government grant is £35m, Nexus is spending £4m, and the remainder comes from the EU. The cost has been kept low because no additional rolling stock is required. Thanks (?) to the policies of an earlier Government the excellent bus: Metro integration of early years was broken up and traffic on the Metro fell. This has produced a surplus of rolling stock which was taken up partly by the Airport extension. When the South Hylton route is open, 90% of the fleet will require to be in service every day. The rolling stock is at present receiving a mid life refurbishment which will give it a further 10-15 years useful life.

The car park at Heworth is one of metro's success stories and is shortly to be enlarged again to meet growing use. Traffic here is expected to rise further once the metro runs to Sunderland. In the northern suburbs the car parks see poorer use. At Kingston Park the car park is busy only on Saturdays or during school holidays but some regular travellers prefer the Supermarket car park on the other side of the tracks and do shopping on their way home from work. Callerton Parkway park has modest use on weekdays but is again busy on Saturdays and during school holidays. An explanation for this varying use is that parents take their children to school, and are then far from a station so drive into work in the city centre. When the school run is not needed they head for the metro car park instead.

Iain D.O. Frew
24 June 2000.