Tyne and Wear Metro: Difference between revisions

From Tyne and Wear Metro wiki
added some links to line pages and added info about peaks
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=== Network ===
=== Network ===
The Metro network is made up of roughly 172km of rail<ref>Produced based on data from OpenStreetMap; [https://overpass-api.de/api/interpreter?data=%5Bout%3Ajson%5D%3B%0Arel%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%28%0A%20%20%3E%3E%3B%0A%20%20way%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%29-%3E.w%3B%0A%28%0A%20%20way.w%5B%22railway%22%3D%22rail%22%5D%3B%0A%20%20way.w%5B%22railway%22%3D%22light_rail%22%5D%3B%0A%20%20way%28132716726%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20FGT-BYW%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28132716718%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095218%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095206%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-MSP%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095216%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-PLI%20crossover%0A%29%3B%0A%28._%3B%3E%3B%29%3B%0Aout%20skel%3B Overpass query].</ref>, 2 lines (yellow line and green line), 60 stations, 9 sets of sidings, 42 crossovers<ref>OpenStreetMap contributors; [https://overpass-api.de/api/interpreter?data=%5Bout%3Ajson%5D%3B%0Arel%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%28%0A%20%20%3E%3E%3B%0A%20%20way%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%20%20way%28132716726%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20FGT-BYW%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28132716718%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095218%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095206%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-MSP%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095216%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-PLI%20crossover%0A%29-%3E.w%3B%0Away.w%5B%22service%22%3D%22crossover%22%5D%3B%0Aout%20body%20geom%3B Overpass query]</ref>, [[Gosforth Depot]], [[Howdon Satellite Depot]], [[Hylton Street Permanent Way Depot]], [[Nexus Learning Centre]], [[Gosforth Depot avoiding line|the avoid line]], and [[Manors ECS Curve|the Manors curve]].
The Metro network is made up of roughly 172km of rail<ref>Produced based on data from OpenStreetMap; [https://overpass-api.de/api/interpreter?data=%5Bout%3Ajson%5D%3B%0Arel%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%28%0A%20%20%3E%3E%3B%0A%20%20way%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%29-%3E.w%3B%0A%28%0A%20%20way.w%5B%22railway%22%3D%22rail%22%5D%3B%0A%20%20way.w%5B%22railway%22%3D%22light_rail%22%5D%3B%0A%20%20way%28132716726%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20FGT-BYW%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28132716718%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095218%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095206%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-MSP%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095216%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-PLI%20crossover%0A%29%3B%0A%28._%3B%3E%3B%29%3B%0Aout%20skel%3B Overpass query].</ref>, 2 lines (yellow line and green line), 60 [[List of Metro stations|stations]], 9 sets of sidings, 42 crossovers<ref>OpenStreetMap contributors; [https://overpass-api.de/api/interpreter?data=%5Bout%3Ajson%5D%3B%0Arel%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%28%0A%20%20%3E%3E%3B%0A%20%20way%5B%22operator%22%3D%22Nexus%22%5D%3B%0A%20%20way%28132716726%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20FGT-BYW%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28132716718%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095218%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20BYW-EBO%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095206%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-MSP%20crossover%0A%20%20way%28248095216%29%3B%20%2F%2F%20SUN-PLI%20crossover%0A%29-%3E.w%3B%0Away.w%5B%22service%22%3D%22crossover%22%5D%3B%0Aout%20body%20geom%3B Overpass query]</ref>, [[Gosforth Depot]], [[Howdon Satellite Depot]], [[Hylton Street Permanent Way Depot]], [[Nexus Learning Centre]], [[Gosforth Depot avoiding line|the avoid line]], and [[Manors ECS Curve|the Manors curve]].


The [[Green Line]] runs between [[Airport]] and [[South Hylton]] and is 37.5 km long<ref>OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from [https://brouter.de/brouter-web/#map=11/55.0051/-1.6390/standard&lonlats=-1.710901,55.035266;-1.448146,54.904004&profile=rail BRouter]</ref>. The [[Yellow Line]] runs between [[St James]] and [[South Shields]] and is 50.5 km long<ref>OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from [https://brouter.de/brouter-web/#map=12/55.0137/-1.5855/standard&lonlats=-1.620677,54.974433;-1.43657,55.035149;-1.433104,54.997564&profile=rail BRouter]</ref>. The track between and including [[South Gosforth]] and [[Pelaw]] is shared between both lines. The yellow line north of the Tyne is known as the "North Tyneside loop". The yellow line is also one of the few rapid transit systems in the world to use a "pretzel configuration", in which it passes the same station ([[Monument]]) twice for each destination and from different platforms.
The [[Green Line]] runs between [[Airport]] and [[South Hylton]] and is 37.5 km long<ref>OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from [https://brouter.de/brouter-web/#map=11/55.0051/-1.6390/standard&lonlats=-1.710901,55.035266;-1.448146,54.904004&profile=rail BRouter]</ref>. The [[Yellow Line]] runs between [[St James]] and [[South Shields]] and is 50.5 km long<ref>OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from [https://brouter.de/brouter-web/#map=12/55.0137/-1.5855/standard&lonlats=-1.620677,54.974433;-1.43657,55.035149;-1.433104,54.997564&profile=rail BRouter]</ref>. The track between and including [[South Gosforth]] and [[Pelaw]] is shared between both lines. The yellow line north of the Tyne is known as the "North Tyneside loop". The yellow line is also one of the few rapid transit systems in the world to use a "pretzel configuration", in which it passes the same station ([[Monument]]) twice for each destination and from different platforms.

Revision as of 12:40, 22 August 2025

This article has a Wikipedia equivalent.

Tyne and Wear Metro logo. On top: yellow square containing black M. On bottom: black strip containing white txt "METRO"
Tyne and Wear Metro logo as of October 2019

The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving many areas of Tyne and Wear in the North East of England. It is owned and operated by Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus).

Rolling stock

The Tyne and Wear Metro currently uses two classes of rolling stock for passenger service. The system started with 90 metrocars, manufactured by Metro-Cammell. However, many of these have now been scrapped while the fleet is replaced by 46 of the new Class 555s, manufactured by Stadler. The new trains first entered passenger service in December 2024[1] and are expected to all be in service by the end of 2026[2][3].

Alongside the passenger stock, Metro also owns and operates three battery locomotives (BL1, BL2 and BL3), a ballast tamper (MA‑60), five hopper wagons, eight bogie flat wagons, and two low height spoil wagons.[4]

Network

The Metro network is made up of roughly 172km of rail[5], 2 lines (yellow line and green line), 60 stations, 9 sets of sidings, 42 crossovers[6], Gosforth Depot, Howdon Satellite Depot, Hylton Street Permanent Way Depot, Nexus Learning Centre, the avoid line, and the Manors curve.

The Green Line runs between Airport and South Hylton and is 37.5 km long[7]. The Yellow Line runs between St James and South Shields and is 50.5 km long[8]. The track between and including South Gosforth and Pelaw is shared between both lines. The yellow line north of the Tyne is known as the "North Tyneside loop". The yellow line is also one of the few rapid transit systems in the world to use a "pretzel configuration", in which it passes the same station (Monument) twice for each destination and from different platforms.

Most of the network is owned by Metro. However, the green line between Pelaw Junction and South Hylton (inclusive) is owned and operated by Network Rail[9], 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. Metro owns all of its stations, including those on Network Rail infrastructure[10], except for Sunderland which is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains[11], and except for Tynemouth which is owned by Station Developments Ltd[12].

Previously, there was red and blue lines, which ran in peak times only. The red line ran between Benton and Pelaw, while the blue line ran between North Shields and St. James. Peak services still run today, except not on their own dedicated line.

List of current Tyne and Wear Metro stations
Station Code[a][13][14] Opened (for Metro) Platforms
Airport APT, APN[b] 17 November 1991 1, 2
Bank Foot BFT 10 May 1981 1, 2
Bede BDE 24 March 1984 1, 2
Benton BTN, BNO 11 August 1980 1, 2
Brockley Whins BYW, BNR 31 March 2002 1, 2
Byker BYK 14 November 1982 1, 2
Callerton Parkway CAL 17 November 1991 1, 2
Central Station CEN, NCZ 15 November 1981 1, 2
Chichester CHI 24 March 1984 1, 2
Chillingham Road CRD 14 November 1982 1, 2
Cullercoats CUL 11 August 1980 1, 2
East Boldon EBO, EBL 31 March 2002 1, 2
Fawdon FAW 10 May 1981 1, 2
Fellgate FGT, FEG 31 March 2002 1, 2
Felling FEL 15 November 1981 1, 2
Four Lane Ends FLE 11 August 1980 1, 2
Gateshead GHD 15 November 1981 1, 2
Gateshead Stadium GST 15 November 1981 1, 2
Hadrian Road HDR 14 November 1982 1, 2
Haymarket HAY 11 August 1980 1, 2
Hebburn HEB 24 March 1984 1, 2
Heworth HTH, HEZ 15 November 1981 1, 2
Howdon HOW 14 November 1982 1, 2
Ilford Road ILF 11 August 1980 1, 2
Jarrow JAR, JAW 24 March 1984 1, 2
Jesmond JES, JSM 11 August 1980 1, 2
Kingston Park KSP 15 September 1985 1, 2
Longbenton LBN 11 August 1980 1, 2
Manors MAN, MRM 14 November 1982 1, 2
Meadow Well MWL, MDW 14 November 1982 1, 2
Millfield MLF, MIF 31 March 2002 1, 2
Monkseaton MSN, MSP 11 August 1980 1, 2
Monument MMT[c] 15 November 1981 1, 2, 3, 4
North Shields NSH 14 November 1982 1, 2
Northumberland Park NPK 11 December 2005 1, 2
Pallion PAL, PAI 31 March 2002 1, 2
Palmersville PMV 19 March 1986 1, 2
Park Lane PLI, CIC 28 April 2002 1, 2
Pelaw PLW, PAW 16 September 1985 1, 2
Percy Main PCM 14 November 1982 1, 2
Regent Centre RGC, REG 10 May 1981 1, 2
Seaburn SBN, SEB 31 March 2002 1, 2
Shiremoor SMR, SHM 11 August 1980 1, 2
Simonside SMD, SMN 17 March 2008 1, 2
South Gosforth SGF, SGH 11 August 1980 1, 2
South Hylton SHL, SHZ 31 March 2002 2[d]
South Shields SSS, SHV 23 March 1984 2[e]
St James SJM, SJN 14 November 1982 1, 2
St Peter's MSP, STZ 16 April 2001 1, 2
Stadium of Light SFC, STI 31 March 2002 1, 2
Sunderland SUN 31 March 2002 1, 2, 3, 4[f]
Tyne Dock TDK 24 March 1984 1, 2
Tynemouth TYN, TYP 11 August 1980 1, 2
University UNI, UNV 31 March 2002 1, 2
Walkergate WKG 14 November 1982 1, 2
Wallsend WSD, WLL 14 November 1982 1, 2
Wansbeck Road WBR 10 May 1981 1, 2
West Jesmond WJS 11 August 1980 1, 2
West Monkseaton WMN 11 August 1980 1, 2
Whitley Bay WTL, WHB 11 August 1980 1, 2
List of non-passenger stops on the Metro network
Name Code[15] Adjacent stops Number of storage spaces[g]
Gosforth Depot avoiding line RGC, LBN
East Boldon up loop BYW, EBO 1
Gosforth Depot DEP GEJ, GMJ, GWJ
Gosforth East Junction GEJ RGC, DEP 0
Gosforth Middle Junction GMJ SGF, DEP 0
Gosforth West Junction GWJ LBN, DEP 0
Howdon Depot Junction HDJ HOW, HSD 0
Howdon Satellite Depot HSD HDJ 11
Hylton Street Permanent Way Depot HYL MWL 1
Jesmond Junction, Manors ECS Curve JJC JES, MAN 1
Monkseaton Sidings MKS MSN, WTL 2
Nexus Learning Centre SSS 2
Pelaw Junction PJC PLW, FGT 2
Pelaw Sidings PWS PLW, HEB, FGT 8
Preston Refuge Siding PRS NSH 1
Regent Centre Siding RGS RGC 1
River Drive Siding RDS SSS 1
Stoddart Street Sidings STD MAN 5
Stoneyhurst Road Siding SRS SGF 1

History

Predecessors

This section is intentionally simplified to only what directly lead to the formation of the Tyne and Wear Metro. Where no primary source is provided, the linked Wikipedia articles are the source. For more information about these predecessors, see the linked Wikipedia articles.

Most of Metro's yellow line is based on an older suburban railway known as the "Tyneside Electrics", which itself was based on the steam "Newcastle and North Shields Railway", part of the "Blyth and Tyne Railway", and the South Tyneside line of "Brandling Junction Railway". The N&NSR opened in 1839, running between the temporary terminus Carliol Square (between Manors and what is now Newcastle Central) and North Shields[16]. In 1864, the B&TR, which extended the N&NSR from North Shields to north of Monkseaton, was extended from Monkseaton to New Bridge Street (between Jesmond and Manors) via Benton[17], forming most of what became the North Tyneside Loop. Tyneside Electrics electrified the North Tyneside Loop using third rail and opened their network in 1904. In 1935, Brandling Junction Railway proposed a line connecting Gateshead to South Shields. That line was electrified by Tyneside Electrics and added to their network in 1938. In the 1960s, British Rail de-electrified the network and converted it to diesel operation.

Metro's green 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.

Metro's green 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 1939 as another section of Brandling Junction Railway.

The rest of the green line, between Sunderland and South Hylton, is based on part of the Durham Junction Railway.

The proposed "Metro to Washington" extension is based on part of the Leamside line[18], which itself is another part of the Durham Junction Railway. This particular stretch of the line was opened by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway in 1849 and closed in the early 1990s.

Planning

In 1969, local authority staff and consultants were undertaking a study into "a strategic framework for land use and transportation planning in the [Tyneside] area"[19]. In 1971, their findings were published under the title "Transport Plan for the 1980s"[20], and the main recommendation was investment in rail rapid transit. The Government accepted this result and, in December 1972, agreed a 75% infrastructure grant towards the capital costs of the system. On 25 July 1973, Elizabeth II approved the Tyneside Metropolitan Railway Act 1973 which empowered the Tyneside PTE to construct works and acquire lands for the system.

Notes

  1. Where there are two codes, the first is the one currently used by Nexus and the second is either an outdated code or the CRS code used by National Rail
  2. NCA according to some sources
  3. In timetables and some APIs, Nexus also uses MTS for platforms 1 and 2, MTN for specifically platform 1, MTW for platforms 3 and 4, and MTE for specifically platform 3.
  4. Most passenger-facing information only refers to platform 2. Internally, it is usually referred to as platform 1. Because of the platform's length, it can also be considered and used as two distinct platforms.
  5. The old station (no longer used in passenger service) is still referred to internally as platform 1
  6. Metro services usually only use two of these platforms, currently platforms 2 and 3.
  7. One 555, two metrocars

Sources

  1. Nexus (18 December 2025). "Metro’s first new train enters customer service" (archived)
  2. Nexus (14 August 2025). "Metro’s old trains deliver recycling boost on their final journeys"
  3. Nexus (18 February 2025). "New Metro fleet enters customer service on the Sunderland line" (archived)
  4. Nexus (4 July 2016). "Metro Train Specifications - a Freedom of Information request to Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive" (archived), WhatDoTheyKnow
  5. Produced based on data from OpenStreetMap; Overpass query.
  6. OpenStreetMap contributors; Overpass query
  7. OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from BRouter
  8. OpenStreetMap contributors and calculations from BRouter
  9. Office of Rail and Road (15 March 2022). "Track access agreement between Network Rail and Nexus" (archived)
  10. The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport (Sunderland) Order 1998, SI 1998/3269 (legislation.gov.uk)
  11. Office of Rail and Road (12 January 2024). "Amendments to the SAC for Sunderland station"
  12. Nexus (13 April 2011). "Tynemouth preserved" (archived)
  13. metro-rti.nexus.org.uk/api/stations (archived)
  14. Railway Codes. "CRS, NLC, TIPLOC and STANOX Codes"
  15. Used in various Nexus timetables and in 'Metro Rule Book's
  16. Grace's Guide (29 June 2022). "Newcastle and North Shields Railway" (archived)
  17. Young, Alan. "NEWCASTLE NEW BRIDGE STREET" (archived). Disused Stations.
  18. Nexus. "Metro to Washington" (accessed 22 August 2025)
  19. Nexus (May 2014). "Landmarks in urban transport" (archived)
  20. Alan M. Voorhees & Associates; Colin Buchanan and Partners (1972). Transport plan for the 1980's. ISBN 0-904211-00-2.