Tyne and Wear Metro

"Newcastle Metro" redirects here. For the light rail system in Newcastle, Australia, see Newcastle Light Rail.

Tyne and Wear Metro
A Metrocar at Monument in 2015, branded in the current black and yellow colour scheme.
A Metrocar at Monument in 2015, branded in the current black and yellow colour scheme.
System map of the Tyne and Wear Metro network.
System map of the Tyne and Wear Metro network.
Overview
OwnerTyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus)
Area served
LocaleTyne and Wear
Transit type
Number of lines2
Number of stations60
Annual ridership29.3 million (2022/23)[2]
Increase 20.6%
Headquarters
Websitewww.nexus.org.uk/metro Edit this at Wikidata
Operation
Began operation11 August 1980; 43 years ago (1980-08-11)
Operator(s)Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus)
Number of vehicles87 Metrocars
Train length27.81 m (91 ft 3 in)
Technical
System length77.5 km (48.2 mi)[3]
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead lines
Top speed80 km/h (50 mph)

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 centered 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.

In 2018–19, an estimated 36.4 million passenger journeys were made on the Metro, making it the third-most used light rail network in the United Kingdom after London's Docklands Light Railway (121.8 million passenger journeys) and Manchester Metrolink (43.7 million passenger journeys).[13] 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; these are scheduled to enter service during mid 2020s.[14] 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.

  1. ^ The Highway Engineer, Volume 23. Institution of Highway Engineers. 1976. p. 44. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Light rail and tram statistics, England: year ending March 2023". GOV.UK. Department for Transport. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference TAGBI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Tyne and Wear Metro". uktram.org.
  5. ^ "Light Rail and Tram Statistics, England: 2019/20" (PDF). Department for Transport.
  6. ^ "The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport (Sunderland) Order 1998". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  7. ^ "How Metro was built". Nexus. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Metro's airport extension celebrates its 25th year". Nexus. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Metro system extended to Sunderland". BBC News. 1 April 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  10. ^ Davoudi, S.; Gillard, A.; Healey, P.; Pullen, B.; Raybould, S.; Robinson, F.; Silcock, D.; Usher, D.; Wymer, C. (1 January 1993). "The longer term effects of the Tyne and Wear Metro". trl.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Tyne & Wear Metro Rapid Transit System, United Kingdom". railway-technology.com. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Tyne and Wear Metro: Stations". thetrams.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Light rail and tram statistics, England: 2018/19" (PDF). Department for Transport. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference CLMETRO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).