Member Article

Rail industry invited to find out more about Metro

Nexus, the owner of the Tyne and Wear Metro, is to invite leading companies in the rail industry to Newcastle in 9 September to find out more about its £350 million modernisation programme for Metro.

The ‘Market Update’ day at St James Park football ground in Newcastle will allow potential bidders for the 7-9 year concession to find out more about the process. Companies in the engineering, infrastructure and ticketing sectors are being invited to hear about potential opportunities within Nexus’s investment programme.

Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, said: “‘Metro: All Change’ is one of the most significant rail projects outside London and offers big opportunities for the industry. “We are openly market-testing a unique business model in a way that hasn’t been since the very first round of rail franchises. This is a business which is currently still in the public sector.”

The new programme includes new communications systems, a comprehensive modernisation plan for 45 stations and wide-ranging overhaul of overhead lines, track and structures on the 56km network.

The Market Update event will see Nexus set out a timescale for the tendering process and reveal more details about the concession. More than 100 companies in the rail industry have been invited and Nexus is expecting a strong response.

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