Howdon depot

Howdon Depot

Location within Tyne and Wear
Location
Location	Howdon, North Tyneside England
Coordinates	54°59′46″N1°29′10″W / 54.996°N 1.486°W / 54.996; -1.486
OS grid	NZ328669
Characteristics
Owner	Tyne and Wear PTE
Operator	Tyne and Wear Metro
Type	Light rail
Roads	11 (10 outside, 1 in shed)
Rolling stock	Class 555 Metro Class 599 Metrocar
History
Opened	October 2020;6 years ago (2020-10)
Original	Tyne and Wear Metro

Howdon Depot is a satellite depot used for cleaning, maintenance and stabling of the Tyne and Wear Metro fleet. It is located between the stations Howdon and Percy Main in Howdon, North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is equipped with ten storage roads, ^{[1] [2]} and features a maintenance shed with a single road and a pit underneath, as well as one shunt road. ^[3]

History

The depot was constructed on the site of a former landfill, by Buckingham Group Contracting, as a temporary satellite of South Gosforth depot, ahead of refurbishment work commencing. ^[4] A groundbreaking ceremony took place in June 2019, ^[5] with the main construction phase commencing in late 2019. ^[6] Opening was initially expected in July 2020, ^{[7] [8] [9]} but this was delayed, with the depot becoming operational in December 2020, ^{[3] [10] [11]}

The depot has the capacity to house 25% of the current Metrocar fleet, which allowed for a continuing service whilst the main depot at South Gosforth was upgraded. Construction of the new 12-acre (4.9 ha) South Gosforth depot completed in January 2024. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

References

1. Shirres, David, ed. (November 2019). "New Tyne and Wear Depot at Howdon". Rail Engineer (179). Coalville: Rail Media: 40. OCLC   67701855.
2. Beardsley, Ian (December 2020). "Stadler takes over Metro maintenance". Today's Railways. No. 226. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 20. ISSN   1475-9713.
3. Harris, Nigel, ed. (21 October 2020). "Satellite depot aids Metro maintenance". Rail Magazine. No. 916. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 22. ISSN   0953-4563.
4. Sherratt, Philip (September 2020). "Metro set for new fleet transformation". Modern Railways. Vol. 77, no. 864. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 72–73. ISSN   0026-8356.
5. Pickering, Grahame (5 May 2021). "Managing Metro's metamorphosis". Rail Magazine. No. 930. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 54. ISSN   0953-4563.
6. Havery, Gavin (1 January 2020). "Work started on temporary Metro depot". Northern Echo . Retrieved 30 August 2020.
7. "Tyne & Wear Metro's new depot at Howdon almost ready to open". Rail Staff. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
8. "New Tyne & Wear Metro depot at Howdon". Rail Engineer. No. 185. July 2020.
9. Pritchard, Robert (September 2020). "Tyne and Wear Metro at 40". Today's Railways. No. 223. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 30. ISSN   1475-9713.
10. Sherratt, Philip (September 2020). "Metro set for new fleet transformation". Modern Railways. Vol. 77, no. 864. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 72. ISSN   0026-8356.
11. "Temporary Metro depot becomes operational in North Tyneside". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive . 17 December 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
12. Button, Jason (24 January 2024). "Metro's new £70 million Gosforth Depot successfully completed to house new trains". Shields Gazette . Retrieved 15 April 2024.
13. Booth, Janine (25 January 2024). "New Tyne & Wear Metro Gosforth Depot is completed". RailAdvent. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
14. Pashby, Tom (29 January 2024). "New £70M Tyne and Wear Metro depot completed". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 15 April 2024.

External links

• Media related to Howdon depot at Wikimedia Commons