Nexus launches investigation after Metro delays cause misery for passengers

Commuters were forced to rely on replacement buses, yesterday, after overhead wires came down.

However, Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, has announced train services are now back up and running - subject to delays - after engineers worked through the night.

An investigation has now been launched as to why the overhead lines came down.

Managing Director of Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said: “My thanks go to customers for their patience during this extended period of service disruption. I’m pleased to say that we have now restored Metro services between Monument and Heworth

“We have seen problems with two sections of overhead line that needed to be replaced after they came down. We have worked on this issue as quickly as possible and I apologise to customers who have been inconvenienced.

“The power lines came down at Gateshead Stadium and at Hebburn. These incidents occurred on Wednesday night and then on Thursday morning and the incident are linked. We are now investigating what went wrong.

“We are going to invest £20m on replacing Metro’s overhead lines. The work will start in January and last around three years as Nexus upgrades 60km of high voltage power lines right across its infrastructure. This work was already planned as part of our £350m modernisation programme.”