Half day replacement bus service cost Tyne & Wear Metro more than £8,000

Nexus, who operate the Metro service, has said that the recent attempted theft of cable from the line near Palmersville Metro Station, has cost the company more than £8,000 to put on a replacement bus service for disgruntled passengers.

Commuters faced huge disruption on Friday, June 21 2019, after considerable damage was caused to the line, forcing Nexus to offer alternative forms of transport.

The Offenders made their way onto the tracks in the early hours of the morning and cut through a power cables, before leaving the scene empty-handed.

This resulted in the line between South Gosforth and Monkseaton being closed for a number of hours as engineers rectified the problem.

A spokesperson for Nexus said: “While the thieves did not get away with any of the copper cables, it has still cost thousands of pounds in terms of lost revenue and on the costs of providing replacement bus services, taxis, and Metro ticket acceptance on other local bus routes while the line was shut from 5.00am to 1.40pm, on Friday June 21, the cost came to £8,000”

Sergeant Tim Hand, of Northumbria Police’s Metro Unit, said: “I would like to reiterate the very real dangers of interfering with live cables on the tracks. Offenders are handling live wires, which can cause severe burns or potentially fatal injuries.

“These types of offences can cause a huge amount of disruption to passengers, so we are eager to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”

Northumbria Police are still investigating the attempted theft and released CCTV images of two men who were in the area at the time. The individuals were identified and spoken to, police say that they are satisfied that the pair were not involved in the damage.

Their enquiries are on-going and urge anyone with information about the damage to come forward.

Anyone with information can contact 101 quoting reference 416 210619.