Metro services are suspended on Monday in two areas of the system due to infrastructure issues, causing major delays for commuters in Sunderland and North Tyneside.
Signalling issue halts Yellow Line
In North Tyneside, services on the Yellow Line between Wallsend and Monkseaton are suspended due to a signalling issue. In Sunderland, disruption is caused by damage to overhead power line equipment, with repairs planned for tonight.
Stuart Clarke, Infrastructure Director at Nexus, said: “Metro services are currently suspended in two areas of the system due to infrastructure issues. There is a service suspension on our Yellow Line between Wallsend and Monkseaton due to a signalling issue. We can’t estimate a time to resume services in this area until our engineers have carried out their initial investigations. We will provide further updates as soon as we have them.”
Overhead line fault in Sunderland
“Services are all also suspended between Park Lane and South Hylton. This is due to an overhead line fault. The Sunderland line is owned and managed by Network Rail and we await their engineers carrying out a repair to the wires. This service suspension will likely be in place all day, Monday 28 September.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for the disruption caused by damage to overhead power line equipment at Sunderland. The issue was reported yesterday evening (Sunday 27 September) and the affected section of railway taken out of service while engineers carried out inspections and emergency repairs. The damaged equipment has been made safe but further repairs are required before electric trains can use the affected section. These repairs are planned for tonight and, as a result, Metro services are unable to operate between Park Lane and South Hylton today.”
Replacement services and ticket acceptance
Clarke added: “We are sorry for the inconvenience these issues are causing customers. A replacement bus service is in operation between Park Lane and South Hylton. We also have Metro ticket acceptance on Stagecoach buses 8, 10, 11, 16, and 20. Between Wallsend and Monkseaton we have Metro ticket acceptance on local bus routes. Customers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys, where possible, when travelling in the affected areas.”
In Sunderland, ticket acceptance is available on Stagecoach services 8, 10, 11, 16 & 20. A replacement bus service is also in operation in the area. In Tyneside, ticket acceptance is available on Arriva - 57/57a, 306 & 308; Go North East - 301, 307, 309, 317, 353 & 354, and Stagecoach - 12, 22 & 40. Trains between St James and Wallsend are running every 15 minutes every 12 minutes between Monkseaton and South Shields.
