Newcastle Tram

Nexus commissioned the installation of a new Nexus Learning Centre (NLC), located on the old South Shields sidings, to enable personnel training on Nexus Rail infrastructure and rolling stock. The new facility includes a pair of tracks terminating in a new training facility building, which includes service pits and overhead walkways for access to the Nexus trains. At the rear of the facility is an unconnected ‘mock-up’ section, which includes a short two track section of railway with Overhead Live Equipment (OLE) for maintenance training purposes. It is not connected to the traction system and is not live.

he Nexus Learning Centre also interfaces with the adjacent South Shields Transport Interchange (SSTI) scheme. The SSTI scheme has reconfigured the OLE through the South Shields area.

As a result, the current OLE tension lengths, which run through the South Shields existing station, have been de-wired as part of a rationalisation exercise.

This resulted in the de-wirement of the existing (shortened) sidings two and three. The scope of the OLE design was to reinstate the wiring to enable electrification of the three routes within the NLC facility, incorporating siding one, and tracks two and three through the facility approach and into the training facility building. Due to the de-wirement works being undertaken by the interfacing project, this project reinstated a second tension length through the current South Shields station which required additional infrastructure within the SSTI area.