Nexus is to upgrade the Tyne and Wear Metro control room situated in South Gosforth, near Newcastle, England, with an investment of £12m.
As part of the upgrade, Nexus, the public body that owns and manages the Metro, will install a new computerised signalling control system in the control room to manage the trains more efficiently and effectively.
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Nexus managing director Tobyn Hughes said: “This £12m project is the biggest overhaul of technology in the Metro control room for almost 40 years.
“The investment brings our signalling control systems into the digital age and it will be of huge benefit to Metro operations.”
The proposed upgrade will be funded as part of the £350m ‘Metro: all change modernisation’ programme and will involve the installation of a new rail traffic management system (RTMS), supplied by UK-based rail technology and transport solutions provider Resonate.
Expected to transform the current layout of the Metro control room, the RTMS is similar to the one used on national railways by Network Rail.
The company will replace the current Metro control room display board and button system with a new service view comprising five 65in plasma screens.
Nexus plans to install the system on the weekend of 4 and 5 August this year and warned disruptions on Metro services are to be expected during those days.
All passenger information display screens (PIDs) across all 60 Metro stations are also set to be affected during the course of the upgrade.
Nexus has advised passengers to go check its website and social media platforms to know more about the rail service disruption.
