Work to completely refurbish platform areas at Sunderland railway station entered its final phase on Monday 21 June.
This will see the north end of the station re-opened from the start of service, letting passengers see the major improvements made, including the new open-plan staircase.
At the same time the south end platforms, reached from the main concourse, will be closed for two weeks to complete work on the floor in this area.
All trains, including Metro, Northern and Grand Central services, will call at the north end only, platforms 1 and 4, and access to the station will be by the North Entrance only, beside TJ Hughes.
The £7m refurbishment, paid for by Nexus with the support of station owner Network Rail and station manager Northern, will be completed this summer – but all platforms and entrances will be fully open again from early July.
Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, said: “Sunderland represents the most money Nexus has ever spent on modernising a station, and we are very pleased with the way the new-look platform areas are taking shape.
“Feedback from passengers has been very positive, and we look forward to letting people see and experience the vastly-improved spaces we have created.”
Sunderland station is used by around two million passengers a year, three-quarters of them travelling on the Tyne and Wear metro, which is owned and managed by Nexus, leading it to invest heavily in modernising the platforms.
The refurbished platforms feature new lighting, ceilings, floors and wall panelling to give the station a unique new look, making it a world-class gateway to the city centre of Sunderland.
Public address systems and passenger information displays have been transformed and three separate artists have been commissioned to work with architects and designers to create a unique new urban landmark.
Julian Germain’s ‘Found’ is made up of 41 poignant photographs along the station’s east wall, showing items discovered in the lost property office of the Tyne and Wear Metro in a new light.
Morag Morisson, meanwhile, has devised a colour scheme for administration buildings along the platforms designed to create a more intimate waiting environment.
From July contractors will finish various minor jobs in the station over the summer, including the programming of a 140-metre long moving light artwork behind a new glass block wall facing the west platforms.
The work by Jason Bruges Studio incorporates film of local people into a montage of pixelated moving images representing ghostly figures apparently waiting for trains.
Nexus, Sunderland City Council, Northern and Network Rail are meanwhile working in partnership to develop plans to refurbish the street-level concourses and facilities at the station.