Tyne and Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro is a light rail system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland. Much of its route uses former railway lines built between 1834 and 1882, including the Newcastle and North Shields Railway opened in 1839. The Metro replaced the Tyneside Electrics suburban network, which had run electric trains north of the Tyne from 1904. Construction began in 1974, creating new tunnels and bridges to link the old lines. A fleet of Metrocars was built for the new service, which opened in stages between 1980 and 1984. The Metro was Britain’s first light rapid transit system and the first UK transport network designed to be fully accessible. It introduced metric-only speeds and distances when it opened, setting new standards for public transport. Extensions followed to Newcastle Airport in 1991 and to Sunderland via South Hylton in 2002. By 2013 the network had sixty stations and seventy-seven and a half kilometres of track across two lines. Rolling stock has since been modernised, with new Class 555 trains introduced in 2024. Visitors find a mix of underground and above-ground stations across the region. The Metro runs through central Newcastle and Gateshead in tunnels, then crosses the River Tyne on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. Elevated sections include the Byker Viaduct over the Ouseburn Valley. Purpose-built interchanges such as Four Lane Ends and Heworth link the Metro with local buses. Stations serve city centres, suburbs and the airport, providing frequent connections across Tyne and Wear.