Metro services are to be suspended on a major Tyneside route after a section of rail was found to have broken at Gosforth.
The Tyne and Wear Metro route between South Gosforth and Four Lane Ends will be closed from 6pm on Thursday to allow for emergency repairs to a broken rail.
Nexus, the public body which owns and operates Metro, said the works were vital and needed to be carried out as soon as possible in the interests of safety.
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The broken rail was discovered early on Wednesday morning and a reduced speed was put in place between Longbenton and Four Lane Ends on the affected section.
The line closure will be in place from 6pm until the end of timetabled services on Thursday.
A replacement bus service, 900, will be in operation on the affected route. The buses will operate every 30 minutes from Four Lane Ends through to Regent Centre, calling at Longbenton Metro station on the way.
Customers will also be able to use their ticket and passes on Arriva services 51, 54 and 55. There will be Metro ticket acceptance on Stagecoach buses 62 and 63 running from Four Lane Ends to Newcastle city centre.
Customer who do not want to transfer on to buses can, as an alternative, travel on Metro into Newcastle around the North Tyneside coastal loop, via Wallsend.
Metro infrastructure director Stuart Clarke said: “We must carry out an emergency line closure between South Gosforth and Four Lane Ends from 6pm on Thursday to repair a broken rail.
“We appreciate this is frustrating for customers but safety has to be our top priority.
“We discovered the broken rail early on Wednesday morning. A detailed safety inspection has been conducted and customers are assured that it is safe to run trains, with a reduced speed of 15kph between Longbenton and Four Lane Ends in place on the affected section.
“The damage is on a line that connects the depot with the main line. We need to get this repaired as soon as possible, which is why we need to close the line from 6pm so that our workers can get safe access to the site in order to install a new section of rail.
“We have ensured customers can get frequent replacement buses and use their Metro tickets on other local bus routes while we carry out this really important track repair work.
“We aim to have the affected section of line back up and running from early Friday morning, 16 December. Customers are advised to check for the latest information before travelling on Twitter page @My_Metro.”
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