Green Line
The Green Line (GRN) is the 37.5 km long[1] route from Airport to South Hylton. It is dual-track, with the track towards South Hylton and connecting platforms numbered 1 (as well as Sunderland platform 2) being the "in-line", and the track towards Airport and connecting platforms numbered 2 (as well as Sunderland platforms 3 and 4) being the "out-line".
Ownership
[edit | edit source]The Green Line between Pelaw Junction and South Hylton (inclusive) is owned and operated by Network Rail,[2] with the line between and including Fellgate and Sunderland shared with heavy rail. As a result, all Metro trains in this section of the network, including empty coaching stock that doesn't usually show on the Pop app, can be tracked through services like Realtime Trains and Signal Maps. Despite this, Metro still own all of the stations on the Green Line, including those on Network Rail infrastructure,[3] except for Sunderland which is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.[4]
Predecessors
[edit | edit source]This section is intentionally simplified to only what directly led to the formation of the Green Line. Where no primary source is provided, the linked Wikipedia articles are the source. For more information about these predecessors, see the linked Wikipedia articles.
The line between South Gosforth and Airport is based on the Ponteland Railway between South Gosforth and Kenton Bank (which became Bank Foot). The Ponteland Railway opened in 1905 and continued from Kenton Bank to Ponteland, but this continuation of the line no longer exists. The Ponteland Railway closed to passengers in 1929.
The line between Pelaw and Sunderland is based on part of the Durham Coast Line, which still runs to this day. This particular stretch of track was opened in 1839 as another section of Brandling Junction Railway.
The rest of the line, between Sunderland and South Hylton, is based on part of the Penshaw Branch, opened by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway in 1853 and closed to passengers in 1964.
Sources
[edit | edit source]- ↑ OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from BRouter
- ↑ Office of Rail and Road (15 March 2022). "Track access agreement between Network Rail and Nexus" (archived)
- ↑ The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport (Sunderland) Order 1998, SI 1998/3269 (legislation.gov.uk)
- ↑ Office of Rail and Road (12 January 2024). "Amendments to the SAC for Sunderland station" (archived)
