Safety checks after Metro station closed

Simonside station reopened earlier after it was shut due to safety concerns

Safety checks have been carried out at Tyne and Wear Metro stations after one was forced to shut due to structural concerns.

Concerns about the state of concrete on the platforms at Simonside station, in South Tyneside, led to it being closed last week.

The station has since reopened after critical repairs to reinforce the concrete and strengthen both platforms were carried out.

Operator Nexus said inspections had been undertaken at other sites as a "precautionary measure" and confirmed all other 59 stations it manages had no issues.

Simonside station opened in 2008, making it the second newest on the Metro network after the new South Shields Interchange, which opened in 2019.

Stuart Clark, infrastructure director at Nexus, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service repairs at the station took place during night shifts throughout the week.

"We have completed platform inspections at other Metro stations as a precautionary measure, however, the design of Simonside is different to other stations, notably because it was opened in 2008, compared to the majority of others which were opened in the 1980s," he said.