NEW FOOTBRIDGE AND PASSENGER LIFTS OPEN AT BENTON METRO STATION
Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, officially opened the new footbridge and lifts at Benton Metro station opened on Friday 17 June.
The £1m development will dramatically improve access for passengers travelling from Benton. Wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs who require step free access no longer face a half mile detour to cross from one platform to another.
Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, has carried out the work as part of its £385m Metro All Change programme which will see the network modernised over the next 11 years, including stations and trains.
The project saw the old footbridge linking the north and south platforms dismantled and the construction of a new bridge with new stairs and two new passenger lifts serving each platform.
The development also includes improvements to existing pedestrian access from Linden Terrace to the north platform, new CCTV cameras, new station signage and the conversion of two existing parking bays to disabled spaces.
Director of Customer Services for Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said: “We’re very pleased to be opening the new footbridge and lifts at Benton Metro station.
“I’d like to thank local residents for their patience while the work was taking place. This highly technical project has taken longer to complete than we anticipated and I apologise for any disruption caused.
“The completed development makes life easier for passengers who use Benton Metro station. We have dramatically improved station access with two new lifts and a new footbridge. It was money well spent.
“The new footbridge itself has made the station look much brighter and more modern than it used to.”
Cllr Ed Hodson, North Tyneside’s cabinet member for Transport and the Green Environment, said: “It is fantastic news that the new footbridge and lifts at Benton Metro Station are now open.
“It will make life much easier for people travelling from Benton, and I’m sure the improvements will be well received by the local community.”
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