Metro bid for £400m signalling upgrade cash
BBCA £400m bid has been submitted to the government to help keep the Tyne and Wear Metro running.
Operator Nexus said it needs to replace its "safety-critical" signalling system which is now beyond its 40-year-life span.
Signalling failures are responsible for 62% of all infrastructure related delays, with that figure expected to increase in the coming years.
The bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) will now move to the next phase of an approval process.
The existing signalling system, which dates from the network's construction in the 1970s and 80s, has become "increasingly difficult to maintain" due to the difficulty in finding both the parts and engineering skills to carry out repairs, Nexus said.
There is concern that while the the first of the long-awaited new fleet of trains has entered service, it would soon be crippled if the signalling to guide them is not replaced by 2030, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Nexus managing director Cathy Massarella said: "Signalling is the safety-critical system which underpins the operation of our Metro system.
"We are working with analogue technology in a digital era.
"A new signalling system is what we need to ensure the long-term future and sustainability of the Metro and also to pave the way for any future expansion."
The bid comes at a time when the government has faced criticism for scrapping the proposed dualling of the A1 in Northumberland and cutting £50m of transport funding earmarked for County Durham.
Nexus confirmed the DfT has reviewed a strategic outline business case which was formally submitted at the end of last year and that the bid would now move to the next phase of the approval process.