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Tyne and Wear Metro
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Tyne and Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro is a light rail metro system in Tyne and Wear in north-east England, which opened in 1980, and in 2002-3 served 40 million journeys. It is operated by Nexus, previously known as the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (TWPTE). Nexus also operate a passenger ferry service at the mouth of the River Tyne between North Shields and South Shields.

Table of contents
1 Overview
2 Opening dates
3 Metro stations
4 The future
5 External links

Overview

The Metro system has two lines:

The majority of track is overground, built mainly on existing trackbeds, but there are purpose-built underground sections in Newcastle and Gateshead. The section between Pelaw and Sunderland is shared with mainline trains.

The Tyne and Wear Metro is also the first underground train network which allows customers to use their mobile phone across the entire network, an achivement which is being closely watched by the London Underground. The Metro does not however permit the carriage of standard bicycles, a policy which has received much criticism from environmental campaigners (only small folding bicycles are permitted).

Opening dates

The system opened in stages:

Metro stations

Purpose-built stations

The following stations were built specifically for the Tyne and Wear Metro system.

Converted stations

The following stations were originally built solely for mainline trains, but have since been converted or re-built for Metro use. All except Sunderland now serve Metro trains only.

The future

A new station, due to open in 200x, is currently under construction at Backworth, between Palmersville and Shiremoor on the northern loop section of the yellow line.

An expansion to Seaham was planned, but is unlikely, as the Metro's operator is examining 'Project Orpheus', a tram system and other more flexible types of public transport.

Several other extensions have been suggested at various times with the aim of reducing traffic congestion in the area. These have had strong public backing, but funding for any of them is very unlikely at least in the near future. The cheapest to install would be the lines to eastern Washington, and to Blyth & Ashington, both of which would run on existing little-used freight lines; these would require little more than the building of stations and electrification. Extension to Cramlington would require widening of the busy East Coast main line to four tracks, while the extension to Newcastle's west end would require entirely new track involving tunneling and bridging in hilly terrain; this would be very costly and is pehaps least likely to receive funding.

External links


Metros of the United Kingdom:
True Metros:
Docklands Light Railway | Glasgow Underground | London Underground | Tyne & Wear;
Modern Tramways:
(Croydon) Tramlink | Manchester | Midland Metro | Nottingham | Sheffield