Tyne and Wear Metro facing bills millions of pounds higher than expected as prices jump

The Tyne and Wear Metro is facing bills that are millions of pounds higher than expected as the rising cost of living hits the network.

The rail system, which is run by Nexus, could see its energy costs alone jump by £4 million as the price of electricity goes up.

It is another blow to the system which over the last few years has relied on a number of government bailouts to keep the network running.

Local councils have also boosted their funding for the Metro since January to try and fill a £21 million gap in its budget.

As part of the company's efforts to stop cuts to its services, passengers have already faced price-rises. Earlier this year the cost of tickets increased by up to 9.5%.

Nexus said: "The cost of high voltage power which is used to operate the Metro system has increased significantly due to the volatility of the energy market.

"We are working to achieve the lowest possible price for our power supply in the year ahead, but it is still too early to predict what the extra cost will be."

The company added: "Nexus will be keeping this under constant review, as we will with all of our other costs, which, like all rail companies in the UK, are being affected by the cost of living crisis."

According to Nexus, the system could be £10million over its planned budget for 2022/23 due to increased energy prices and a number of other factors.

These include paying for additional security teams to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, protecting bus services cut by private operators and pressure from contract prices rising.

Currently the black hole caused by the combination of these things is not being covered by fares.

To balance the books, Nexus is planning on spending £5.6 million of its cash reserves which it has said is "not a sustainable long term solution".

It is hoped however the arrival of more than £7 million in additional Covid-relief funding from the government will support the system, and help the organisation balance its budget.

A saving of more than one million pounds has also been found after it became apparent that Nexus had been overpaying on a debt acquired with the extension of the Metro to Sunderland in 2002.

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