Skanska has completed civil engineering and building work on a new 5.1 kilometre section of railway for Sunderland Direct, to be officially opened by the HM Queen next week (7 May), after being awarded the contract to finish the project when original contractor Christiani Nielsen went into administration.
Sunderland Direct is a multi-million private partnership scheme between Railtrack and Nexus to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro Service by 18-kilometres from Newcastle to Sunderland and beyond, with 13 kilometres of the route to Sunderland Station using existing track.
Skanska was invited by Railtrack at short notice in November 2000 to complete the new track section from Sunderland Station to South Hylton. By retaining and integrating the original workforce alongside its own people, Skanska ensured a “business as usual approach” despite the change in contractor.
Skanska’s contract included track formation and five new stations, including Park Lane, which the HM Queen will open next week. The work also covered five rail bridges, one existing rail tunnel, one road bridge, four footbridges and earth retaining structures. The company also upgraded Sunderland Station to make it an interchange between metro and rail services.
Mike Parker, director general of Nexus, said, “As the customer, Nexus is delighted at the quality of work provided by Skanska.”