Tyne and Wear Metro to be hit by train strike impact

There will be no Metro services between Pelaw and South Hylton on the strike days

A large section of the Tyne and Wear Metro will be closed for three days due to rail strikes, bosses have said.

Although Metro staff are not part of the national industrial action, the walkout will affect the running of trains on Network Rail track between Pelaw and South Hylton.

Metro operator Nexus said no services will run between the two stations on 21, 23 and 25 June.

More than 40,000 staff are expected to take part in the strike.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 13 train operators are taking industrial action in a row over pay, pensions, and job losses in what has been called the "biggest rail strike in modern history".

'Do everything we can'

Because of the strike, there won't be enough staff to operate the signals on the line for the Metro, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Nexus said a replacement bus will run between Heworth and South Hylton on 25 June but not on the other strike days as it was "not possible to provide replacement buses at short notice".

The firm said there would also be an impact on the days after the strikes with services on the affected section not resuming until 07:00.

Trains on the other parts of the Metro system will be running as normal throughout the week.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail's chief executive, pledged that the organisation was "doing everything we can to avoid strike action".