Extra funds to keep Metro on track
£8M TO GO TO SERVICE TO GET THROUGH LOCKDOWN
THE Tyne and Wear Metro is to receive a further £8m funding to help see it through the final stages of the lockdown, the Department for Transport has announced.
The Metro has experienced a sharp drop in passenger numbers thanks to lockdown rules requiring people to work from home, banning them from visiting other households and forcing shops and pubs to close.
The Department for Transport has provided subsidies over the past year to help ensure the transport network remains operational, and is ready to go once lockdown finally comes to an end.
Nationwide, the Government is today providing £3m for light rail and trams in the North and the Midlands, designed to last 11 weeks.
It takes total support for Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Blackpool, Manchester and Birmingham light rail systems to nearly £200m.
The funding comes alongside over £1bn provided to support local bus services throughout the pandemic.
Transport Minister Baroness Vere said: “As the country opens up in line with the roadmap out of lockdown, we want light rail and tram services to be available to passengers and running as normal.”
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay said: “At the start of this pandemic, we promised to do everything we could to support people and businesses.
“That includes making sure our country’s vital infrastructure is running for people who rely on it – such as key workers and those travelling to schools.
“Today’s funding means thousands of people across the North of England and the Midlands can continue to travel on public transport when they need to, and that trams will be ready for when the country
We need the Government to commit its support throughout that recovery period Martin Gannon
comes out of lockdown.”
Funding will be provided for the next 11 weeks, with a review on the need for further funding for these systems taking place before the end of that period.
Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, said the money was vital at a time when customer numbers are 30% of normal and are expected to recover further as lockdown eases.
This latest announcement means that since March 2020 the Government has allocated a total of £47m of cash support for Metro.
Director of Finance and Resources at Nexus, John Fenwick, said: “This extra financial support is vital so that we can continue providing Metro services while the country starts to emerge from lockdown and we look to welcome more of our customers back to the network.
“Metro ridership and fare revenue remain way below where they would have been, so we are pleased that the Government has made available a further £8m of funding for the next three months.
“The money that we have been allocated will replace fare and commercial revenue losses and go towards meeting our operating costs, ensuring that a key local transport network is being sustained while it continues to face the biggest challenge in its 40 year history.”
Coun Martin Gannon, Chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: “I welcome this funding to keep the Tyne and Wear Metro operating, but I would like further talks with government in relation to the longer term picture.
“It is going to take months, maybe even years, for public transport to recover from the effects of the pandemic on ridership.
“We need the Government to commit its support throughout that recovery period.”
Prior to the pandemic, more than 119 million journeys were taken by light rail or tram each year on systems outside of London, highlighting the importance of these transport networks across the North and Midlands.