THIS is the vision designed by Corus, the York-based rail consultancy... it is part of a £98 million extension of the Tyne & Wear Metro to Sunderland, work on which has now begun.

The underground station at Park Lane is the first of five new stations being designed by Corus Rail Consultancy and will be fully integrated with a bus station to form a new interchange. Also in progress is the refurbishment of the existing Railtrack station in Sunderland city centre where the platform is to be widened to provide an interchange between the Metro and mainline services.

Corus has been involved at various stages throughout the Sunderland Direct project, working both directly for Railtrack and as consultants to the Railtrack-appointed civil engineering contractor.