UK: Tyne & Wear Metro has opened a temporary depot at Howdon which will be used to commission the replacement fleet of trainsets which is to be supplied by Stadler from 2022.
The facility will also be used for cleaning and servicing of the existing articulated Metrocars during a four-year transition period while the main Gosforth depot dating back to 1923 is replaced by a new facility. This has been designed by Ryder Architecture and is being built by VolkerFitzpatrick at cost of £70m.
The temporary depot was built by Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd in one year. It provides 11 stabling and servicing tracks totalling 1·5 km.
‘We now have a dedicated facility to welcome the new Metro trains from 2022’, said Metro Development Director, Neil Blagburn. Howdon is also a vital satellite depot for up to a quarter of the current fleet while we build the new main depot at Gosforth.’
