Modern depot for a modern fleet: visual of the rebuilt Gosforth facility.
Stadler has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick to build a new Tyne and Wear Metro depot at Gosforth to accommodate the new trains it is supplying for the system.
Earlier this year Stadler was confirmed by Nexus as the manufacturer of a new fleet of 46 trains, due to enter service from 2023. It will also maintain and service them for 35 years at the rebuilt facility, to be constructed on the site of the current depot.
The depot rebuilding represents a £70 million investment to vastly improve the working environment and introduce modern maintenance technologies. Facilities will include inspection roads and pits, cranes, jacks, test facilities, automatic train-checking equipment and a wheel-lathe, as well as a train wash. Work is scheduled to begin later in the year, with most of the building work to be completed by 2025.
The current depot opened in 1923. Stadler says the planning has been configured to enable the current fleet to continue operating from the depot, and in addition Nexus has created a satellite depot at Howdon, North Tyneside to provide extra capacity during the rebuilding.
