South Gosforth Metro station

South Gosforth is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving Gosforth in Newcastle upon Tyne. It joined the network on 11 August 1980, following the opening of the first phase of the network, between Haymarket and Tynemouth via Four Lane Ends.

South Gosforth
Tyne and Wear Metro station
LocationGosforth, City of Newcastle upon Tyne
England
Coordinates55°00′18″N 1°36′31″W
Grid referenceNZ251679
Transit authorityTyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive
Platforms2
Tracks2
Construction
Bicycle facilities5 cycle pods
Disabled accessStep-free access to platform level
Other information
Station codeSGF
Fare zoneA and B
History
Original companyBlyth and Tyne Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Key dates
27 June 1864Opened as Gosforth
1 March 1905Renamed South Gosforth
23 January 1978Closed for conversion
11 August 1980Reopened
Passengers
2017/181.60 million[1]
Services
Preceding station Metro Following station
Ilford Road
towards South Hylton
 Green Line Regent Centre
towards Airport
Ilford Road
towards South Shields
 Yellow Line Longbenton
towards St. James via Whitley Bay
Location

The station was originally opened as Gosforth in June 1864, under the Blyth and Tyne Railway. The station was later renamed South Gosforth in March 1905, owing to the opening of the nearby West Gosforth, on the Ponteland and Darras Hall Branch.[2]

The original North Eastern Railway footbridge remains in use at South Gosforth. A similar footbridge removed from Percy Main has since been preserved by the National Railway Museum in York.[3]

The station is located near to the South Gosforth Traction Maintenance Depot, which is located between stations at South Gosforth, Longbenton and Regent Centre. The depot, which opened in October 1923 under the London and North Eastern Railway,[4] now serves as a facility for cleaning, storing and maintaining a fleet of 89 Metrocars.

The station also houses the Metro Control Centre. It is responsible for operating the network's signalling and electrical supply, as well as being used to communicate with train drivers and other staff, using two-way radio equipment.[5]

South Gosforth was used by 1,608,102 passengers in 2017–18, making it the fifth-most-used station on the network, after Monument (5,245,507), Haymarket (3,216,144), Central (2,707,323), and Gateshead (1,806,905).

Facilities

Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with ramped access to platforms at South Gosforth. Between platforms, step-free access is by the road bridge on Station Road. The station is equipped with ticket machines, waiting shelter, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point on both platforms. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment), notes and coins.[6][7] The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.[8][9]

There is no dedicated car parking available at this station. There is the provision for cycle parking, with 5 cycle pods available for use.[10]

Service and frequency

South Gosforth is served by the  Green Line , which operates between South Hylton and Airport, with an end-to-end journey time of 64 minutes, and the  Yellow Line , which operates between South Shields and St. James, with an end-to-end journey time of 83 minutes.

Services from platform 1 operate towards South Hylton and South Shields, with the first trains departing at 05:07 and 05:00 (05:13 and 05:09 on Saturday and 06:13 and 06:24 on Sunday).[note 1] Services from platform 2 operate towards Airport and St. James via Whitley Bay, with the first trains departing at 06:05 and 05:56 (06:31 and 06:09 on Saturday and 06:54 and 07:09 on Sunday).

Trains run frequently across the network, at intervals of up to every 12 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime), and every 15 minutes (evening and Sunday), with the last trains departing at around midnight. Combined, trains run at intervals of up to every 6 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime), and every 7–8 minutes (evening and Sunday) between Pelaw and South Gosforth.

Additional trains run during morning and evening peak hours (Monday to Friday) between Pelaw and Regent Centre or Monkseaton. This provides a train up to every 3 minutes through the station at peak times.[10]

Journey times from South Gosforth are:

See also

References
  1. "Tyne & Wear Metro usage figures". 2017–2018. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. "Blyth & Tyne railway". Northumbrian Railways. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  3. "Large exhibits". National Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
  4. Wells, J. A. (1990). The Blyth & Tyne Branch, 1874–1989 (Blyth & Tyne): Part 2. Northumberland County Council. ISBN 9780951302750.
  5. Meet Your Metro. Tyne and Wear Transport. June 1978.
  6. "Metro passengers feel the benefit of contactless payment". Nexus. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. "Revamp for Metro ticket machines". BBC News. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. "City Metro stations get new smart ticket machines and gates". Nexus. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  9. "Pop card validators at Metro stations are put through their paces". Nexus. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. "Timetables and stations: South Gosforth". Nexus. Retrieved 30 May 2020.

Notes
  1. Some earlier trains operate as far as Pelaw or Park Lane.
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