 Nexus has installed new passenger Help Points at Fellgate Metro to assist passengers when the lifts are out of order. The lifts at Fellgate work more than 98% of the time but can break down, primarily because of misbehaviour by young people. On rare occasions when the lifts are not working the only route to platforms are flights of stairs rising 100ft. Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, agreed the most practical solution was two new Help Points at street level, allowing passengers to speak to Metro’s Control Centre if one of the lifts is out of order. Cllr Tom Hanson, a Passenger Transport Authority member for South Tyneside, welcomed the installation of the Help Points, after concerns were originally raised by former ward councillor Paul Waggott about access to the station. Cllr Hanson, said: “I’m pleased that we have been able to work together with Nexus on a solution that will improve travel for local people. “The new Help Points will give local people the next best thing to access to the station platforms should the lifts ever be out of service.” Cllr Hanson and fellow PTA member for South Tyneside Cllr Michael Clare, joined Nexus Director General Bernard Garner to inspect the new help points as they were switched on today. Metro Control Centre staff will be able to call a taxi to Pelaw for disabled passengers when lifts are out of order, and advise on alternatives for other passengers – including bus services on Calf Close Lane linking to Metro at Jarrow. Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, said: “The lifts work well on their own but are vulnerable to young people misbehaving and forcing them to shut down suddenly, which happens occasionally. “Installing Help Points at street level to boost those on the platforms mean staff will be on-hand to provide assistance and call a taxi for disabled passengers if the lifts should be out.” Nexus has investigated installing ramps at Fellgate in response to requests from local councillors, but have ruled out the idea in the near future. The ramps would have to stretch up to 250 metres to be fully accessible. They would reduce privacy in local homes because people on them would be able to see through bedroom windows. An engineering study estimates the cost of installing them would be around £2.5 million. Fellgate Metro was opened in 2002 when the Metro service was extended to Sunderland and is used by almost 700,000 passengers a year. There had never previously been a station in the area. It was built on the existing railway embankment 100ft above the communities it serves, making access from street level complex. The embankment itself is believed to replace an original 1838 viaduct that carried the railway high over the area. The photograph shows Cllr Tom Hanson helps local resident Jaqueline Lee from Hedworth try out the new street-level help point at Fellgate Metro, installed by Nexus.
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