Nexus, which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, is to carry out a six-day Major Line Closure in North Tyneside in February, as part of the £385m Metro: all change modernisation programme.
The work is the last in a series of major line closures to replace 30-year-old Metro tracks and track beds between Byker and North Shields, following two previous closures last year and in 2011.
Engineers will also complete a major project to demolish and replace the bridge over Carville Road in Wallsend, and strip out and replace a number of junctions that have carried hundreds of thousands of trains over three decades.
The remaining stations on the line are also being refurbished with work at Wallsend, Hadrian Road and Percy Main starting this spring. Walkergate station, where a new lift is being installed, will follow later this year.
The major line closure will be in place during school half term week, from Saturday 16 February until Thursday 21 February, between Byker and North Shields. A normal Metro service will run from the start of Friday 22 February.
A frequent replacement bus service will be in operation on the affected route when trains are not running.
The Howdon Metro level crossing will be closed to traffic and pedestrians for two days, from 10pm on Saturday 16 February until midnight on Monday 18 February. A diversion will be in place for traffic. The pedestrian underpass will remain open during this period.
Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, said: “Our £385m modernisation programme will be continuing throughout 2013 as we invest in new infrastructure to ensure that Metro is here for many more years to come.
“We are completing the replacement of track and refurbishment of stations between Byker and North Shields to finish off track replacement work on the line.
“This is work that is needed once in a generation to secure the future of Metro and we hope passengers understand short term disruption is a price that is worth paying.”
To help you plan your journey go to the journey planner or call Nexus on 0191 20 20 747. Updates on modernisation work are available from Twitter: @My_Metro, and on Facebook/TyneandWearMetro.
More than 14,000 passengers a day use the line between North Shields and Byker. Most of the route was first used as a railway in 1838, making it the oldest commuter railway in the world.
Nexus has already replaced 18km of track and track beds on the route, as well as rebuilding North Shields station and refurbishing those at Chillingham Road, Howdon and Meadow Well.
In total Nexus has invested more than £150m modernising Metro since April 2010, with the programme including major infrastructure works, new smart ticket systems and the refurbishment of trains and stations.
The Metro: all change modernisation programme is the largest series of capital projects on the Metro system since it opened more than 30 years-ago.