May Gurney is at the midway point of a £4.1 million project to refurbish one of the busiest stations on the Tyne & Wear Metro.

May Gurney was appointed to the Surface Stations' Refurbishment Framework in 2010. The three-year framework was awarded by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.

The Tyne & Wear Metro is a 119km rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and surrounding areas. The framework covers work to refurbish and upgrade the Metro, thereby improving public and sustainable transport in the north east.

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The current project involves the demolition and rebuilding of North Shields Metro Station, an important interchange providing bus, ferry and taxi links to other parts of the region. It is the sixth busiest commute station on the network in the north east, with more than 5,000 people passing through every day, which equates to two million passengers annually.

The outdated station is being completely modernised with a new and improved entrance, new retail facilities, lifts to platforms, two new platform canopies and a new concourse.

Peter Stubbs, May Gurney project manager, said: "One of the major challenges is keeping the station open to members of the public during the works.

"Prior to the station demolition we carried out enabling works to allow the platforms to remain operational. This involved creating new access ramps and a staircase at the opposite end of the station platforms, and constructing two new temporary concourse buildings for passengers to purchase tickets."

(CD/GK)