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£1.2m metro station opens to passengers

A new £1.2m Metro station opened to passengers for the first time yesterday. The modernised station at Pelaw will be used by 1.3 million passengers every year and boasts a landmark arched roof and enclosed passenger lounge, the first of its kind on Metro.Passenger numbers at Pelaw have doubled since 2002 when it became a key interchange for the lines to Sunderland and South Tyneside. Passenger numbers at the station have risen from around 600,000 in 2001 to 1.3 million today, with 380,000 people every year changing between the Sunderland and South Tyneside lines.Ken Mackay, Director of Metro, said: “Passengers will feel the difference when they board or change trains at Pelaw. We have delivered a step change in quality that means our customers can travel in greater comfort and confidence. “It is also now a busy change station and has seen passenger numbers double with the success of the Sunderland line. “This represents a significant investment in the future of Metro. We want to repeat the good work done at Pelaw elsewhere, meeting the high expectations of today’s travellers.“The passenger lounge was formally opened yesterday by Stephen Hepburn, the Jarrow MP, with Nexus Director General Mike Parker and members of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority. Pelaw station platforms have remained open throughout the nine-month construction project on the central lounge building, with the minimum of disruption to passengers and services.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .