Tyne and Wear Metro

Tyne and Wear Metro
A Metrocar at Monument in 2015, branded in the current black and yellow colour scheme.
System map of the Tyne and Wear Metro network.
Overview
Owner	Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus)
Area served	Newcastle upon Tyne Gateshead North Tyneside South Tyneside City of Sunderland
Locale	Tyne and Wear
Transit type	Light rail (semi-metro)[1] Rapid transit
Number of lines	2
Number of stations	60
Annual ridership	30.7 million (2023/24)[2] 4.8%
Headquarters	Station Road Gosforth Newcastle upon Tyne
Website	www.nexus.org.uk/metro
Operation
Began operation	11 August 1980; 44 years ago (1980-08-11)
Operator(s)	Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus)
Number of vehicles	87 Metrocars
Train length	27.81 m (91 ft 3 in)
Technical
System length	77.5 km (48.2 mi)[3]
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead lines
Top speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
System map Legend Airport Callerton Parkway Bank Foot Kingston Park Kingston Park  A1  Fawdon Fawdon Wansbeck Road Regent Centre Whitley Bay Monkseaton Cullercoats West Monkseaton Tynemouth Shiremoor North Shields Northumberland Park Meadow Well  A19  Percy Main  A19  Palmersville Howdon Northumberland Line East Coast Main Line Howdon Benton Howdon Depot Four Lane Ends Willington Dene Viaduct Longbenton Hadrian Road South Gosforth Depot Wallsend Walkergate South Gosforth Chillingham Road Ilford Road Byker West Jesmond Byker Viaduct East Coast Main Line Jesmond Manors Haymarket Manors Curve Monument St James Central Queen Elizabeth II Bridge over River Tyne Gateshead Gateshead Stadium Felling Heworth  A184  Durham Coast Line to Newcastle Pelaw Pelaw Sidings  A194  Hebburn Fellgate Jarrow  A19   A19  River Don Brockley Whins Bede  B1298   A194  Simonside East Boldon Loop Tyne Dock  B1299  Chichester East Boldon South Shields Maintenance & Renewals Skills Centre Seaburn Stadium of Light St Peter's Monkwearmouth Bridge over River Wear Sunderland Durham Coast Line to Middlesbrough Burdon Dock Sidings Park Lane University Millfield  A1231  Pallion South Hylton This diagram: view talk edit

The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system^[4][5][6] serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). It has been described as the "first modern light rail system in the United Kingdom".^[7] The system is currently both owned and operated by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus), thus is fully under public ownership and operation.

The Metro was originally conceived of during the early 1970s, incorporating much of the earlier infrastructure formerly used by the Tyneside Electrics suburban network, with some elements dating back as far as 1834. Construction work began in 1974, the majority of this activity being centred on the building of new tunnels and bridges that linked with several preexisting conventional railway lines that were converted. In parallel, a purpose-built fleet of Metrocars was procured. The initial portion of the Tyne and Wear Metro was opened during August 1980, although construction of the original network was not completed until March 1984. Early on, Metro operations were integrated with local bus services, although this practice ended with the deregulation of the buses during the late 1980s.

Multiple extensions to the original network were promptly worked upon; the first of these, from Bank Foot to Newcastle Airport, was opened during November 1991.^[8] A second extension, from Pelaw to Sunderland and South Hylton, was completed in March 2002.^[9] By 2013, the network comprised a total of 60 stations (these being a mixture of underground and above-ground stations) across two lines, covering 77.5 km (48.2 mi) of track.^{[10][11][12][3]} While the Metro has largely been operated by Nexus directly, for a period between 2010 and 2017, the Metro was operated under a concession by DB Regio instead; upon the expiry of the contract, it returned to being operated by Nexus.

Various improvements are underway as of March 2024. During 2016, Nexus launched a programme to replace its existing rolling stock, which dates back to the 1980s, with new Class 555 articulated light rail trains; the first of these are expected to enter service by the end of 2024. Under the Metro Flow scheme, announced in March 2020, works costing £103 million are to increase the service frequency from five to six trains per hour, reduce journey times and improve reliability levels.