After the best part of a decade languishing in the railway version of development hell, at the end of 2023 the first phase of the redevelopment of Sunderland's much-maligned rail station opened to the public, in the form of a spacious new south entrance to the station.
But as pretty much everyone has been quick to point out, the new building serving both mainline trains and the Tyne & Wear Metro hasn't quite arrived exactly as promised... so I paid a visit to take a look for myself.