Plans to bring the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington have taken a major step forward, as engineering designs for the long-awaited expansion are officially underway.
00:00Plans to bring the tining way of Metro to Washington have taken a major step forward as engineering designs for the long-awaited expansion are officially underway.
00:11North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has confirmed that specialist consultants Arup have been appointed to carry out a feasibility study and detail design work for the proposed new route, dubbed the Washington Metro Loop.
00:24The £900m project, backed by an £8m investment announced by the Mayor last summer, would mark the first expansion of the Metro network in over two decades.
00:36The scheme aims to connect Washington, one of the largest towns in the UK, without a rail link to the existing Metro system by reopening the northern section of the disused Leanside line.
00:48The 13km extension would link Peelaw and South Hilton stations and is expected to include stops in Washington and Follingsby, although final station locations and routes details will be revealed in the project's outline business case.
01:04Metro operator Nexus announced the appointment of Arup on Thursday, with hopes that the design phase will strengthen the region's case for the large-scale government funding needed to deliver the scheme.
01:15This is a major milestone, said Mayor McGuinness. I said I'd bring the Metro to Washington and I'm delivering on that promise.
01:24This project will be the biggest Metro expansion in more than 20 years and as transformative as the Sunderland line was when it opened in 2002.
01:33The full restoration of the Leanside line has long been a priority for leaders across the North East, with ambitions to eventually enable new Teng T's rail services through County Durham.
