Glass frontage goes in place as Sunderland's new train station takes shape

The £26million redevelopment of the station entrance at Market Square is part of the wider £100million transformation plans for the city’s main transport hub.

The full entrance shell is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023, after the roof and walling systems have been installed, marking the next major milestone in the major city centre redevelopment.

Completion of the southern entrance works is scheduled for the end of 2023.

The glazed statement entrance, which will overlook Market Square, features a large glass wrap around design, and will include a new ticket office and reception, public toilets, retail space and cafes, comfortable waiting areas, as well as a new mezzanine level that will have office space reserved for rail industry staff.

In 2019/2020, around 1.5 million Metro trips were made from and to the station, with approximately 427,000 trips made using the national rail network, and numbers are expected to grow as the city centre becomes an economic hub and residents begin to embrace more sustainable modes of transport.

Driven by Sunderland City Council, in partnership with Network Rail, Nexus, Grand Central and Northern Rail, the Council is now drumming up support for an entire station makeover over the coming years, with a vision to revamp the northern entrance of the station on High Street West as well as platform-level works to increase the capacity of the station, with four tracks and four platforms to separate Nexus and Metro from mainline services.