A consultant is being sought to asses plans to expand the Tyne & Wear Metro route, as well as local rail extensions in the North East.
Tyne & Wear passenger transport executive Nexus has put out a contract notice in search of a consultant to “better understand how demand may be generated by metro and local rail extensions” within the North East.
News of the contract notice follows the approval of the Metro and Local Rail Strategy by the North East Combined Authority in July 2016. This set out where potential network expansions may be developed in the North East.
The contract will last three years, subject to renewal for a further two years at Nexus’ discretion.
A Nexus spokesman explained: “We are seeking to appoint an expert consultant now from whom we can request future reports without going out to tender each time. There is no minimum guarantee of work, but we anticipate a number of separate requests in the coming years.”
He added: “We will be asking our chosen contractor to forecast the demand for potential new routes or new stations on the Metro that might be added to the local rail network for North East England as part of our Metro Futures programme, on behalf of the region’s combined authorities.
“This will help us develop business cases for investment as we seek to expand the reach of Metro and local rail services. We plan to offer a second tender within the next week focused on the engineering aspect of realising new routes and stations.”
Consultants must apply by midday on 6 March.
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