Transport in Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan area covering the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland, as well as North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and Washington.

A Tyne and Wear Metro service heading for South Shields, seen at Kingston Park.

Tyne and Wear is well served by public transport, with the Tyne and Wear Metro, an extensive bus and rail network, the Shields Ferry, and Newcastle International Airport.

Nexus are the Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) responsible for overseeing the public transport network within Tyne and Wear, with headquarters at Nexus House in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Rail

History

Arguably, Newcastle upon Tyne had the world's first local railway, the Newcastle & North Shields Railway. The line opened in June 1839, originally running between North Shields and Carliol Square.

The line was later extended to Tynemouth, (allowing through trains from the Blyth & Tyne Railway to run), before being further extended to Newcastle Central Station, in 1845.

Most of the railway was closed in 1973, with a section of the line re-opening (east of Heaton to Tynemouth) in November 1982, following the commencement of the Tyne and Wear Metro services between Tynemouth and St. James.

Other historical rail alignments now served by the Tyne and Wear Metro include the Stanhope & Tyne Railway, and the Ponteland & Darras Hall Branch of the North Eastern Railway, amongst others.

Tyne and Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro is a light rail network linking South Tyneside and Sunderland with Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Newcastle Airport. The network opened in stages from August 1980, and now serves 60 stations, covering around 48 miles (77 km) of track.

The Tyne and Wear Metro is one of only two urban rail networks in the United Kingdom (outside London), with other cities, such as Edinburgh, Manchester and Sheffield instead adopting tram networks.

In 2017-18, around 36.4 million passenger journeys were made on the Metro, making it the third-most used tram and light rail network in the United Kingdom, after London's Docklands Light Railway (121.8 million passenger journeys) and the Manchester Metrolink (43.7 million passenger journeys).[1]

The Metro network currently consists of two lines:


Both lines run up to every 12 minutes during the day (Monday to Saturday), and up to every 15 minutes in the evenings and on a Sunday.

This allows for a combined service of up to every 6 minutes (Monday to Saturday), and up to every 7–8 minutes during the evening and on a Sunday between Pelaw and South Gosforth.

Additional trains run during the morning and evening peak (Monday to Friday) between Pelaw and Regent Centre or Monkseaton. This provides a Metro up to every 3 minutes between Pelaw and South Gosforth at peak times.

National Rail

There are currently seven rail stations located within Tyne and Wear, these being: Blaydon, Dunston, Heworth, Manors, Metrocentre, Newcastle Central and Sunderland.

An aerial view of Newcastle Central Station.

Newcastle Central is a key calling point on the East Coast Main Line. The station originally opened in August 1850, as part of the then Newcastle and Carlisle Railway and York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway.

Nowadays, the station is served by CrossCountry, LNER, Northern and TransPennine Express, with trains running to a range of destinations across the country.

CrossCountry run long-distance, high-speed rail services connecting Scotland and the North East with the Midlands, South East and the South Coast. As of the December 2019 timetable change, service and frequency is as follows:[2]

London North Eastern Railway provide long-distance, high-speed rail services, connecting Scotland and the North East with London. As of the December 2019 timetable change, service and frequency is as follows:[3]

Northern operates local rail services across the North East. As of the December 2019 timetable change, service and frequency is as follows:[4]

TransPennine Express links the North East with Yorkshire, Manchester and Liverpool. As of the December 2019 timetable change, service and frequency is as follows:[5]


Sunderland (then Sunderland Central) station opened in August 1879, under the then North Eastern Railway.

Nowadays the station is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, with local rail services operated by Northern. The station is also served by less frequent, long-distance rail services, operated by Grand Central and LNER.

Northern provide an hourly service heading south along the Durham Coast Line towards Sunderland, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe (with some trains continuing on to Whitby), and an hourly service heading north to Newcastle, with trains then joining the Tyne Valley Line, continuing on towards Hexham.[6]

In March 2002, following the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro from Pelaw to Sunderland and South Hylton, rail services between Sunderland and Newcastle were amended, with Heworth becoming the single intermediate station on the route between the two cities.

Former rail stations at Seaburn, East Boldon and Brockley Whins (as well as new purpose-built stations at St. Peter's, Stadium of Light and Fellgate) are now served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, with a frequency of up to five trains per hour, and a direct link to Newcastle Airport.[7]

In January 2006, new open-access operator Grand Central (now owned by Arriva) was granted permission to run four trains per day between Sunderland and London King's Cross. Service commenced in December 2007, and as of December 2019, the operator now provides five daily services, linking Sunderland, Hartlepool and York with the capital.[8]

In December 2015, Virgin Train East Coast (now LNER) began their new direct train service to London King's Cross. As of December 2019, trains depart from Sunderland for London King's Cross at 05:40 (arriving 09:09) on weekdays, returning to Sunderland at 23:23 (departing from London King's Cross at 20:00).[9]

Air

Newcastle International Airport is the eleventh busiest airport in the United Kingdom, with around 5.33 million passenger journeys made in 2018.[10]

The airport serves various domestic, European and North African destinations, as well as direct flights to Dubai and Orlando Sandford.[11]

The airport is easily accessible by Metro, with up to five trains per hour serving the cities of Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne, from Airport station.

Bus
A Wright StreetLite, followed by an Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 MMC, seen in Gosforth.

Tyne and Wear has an extensive bus network, overseen by the Public Transport Executive (PTE), Nexus. Bus services in the area are mainly operated by three main companies, these being Arriva, Go North East and Stagecoach.

Arriva North East operate services to the north and east of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Go North East mainly serve the areas of Gateshead, North & South Tyneside, Sunderland and Washington, as well as County Durham, Northumberland and the Tyne Valley.

Go North East also operate the Quaylink, with frequent bus services linking the city centre and Quayside with the surrounding area. The Q1 & Q2 routes serve areas in and around Gateshead, with the Q3 route serving Gosforth, Great Park, Ouseburn, Walker Riverside and Wallsend.

Stagecoach North East mainly provides local services within Newcastle upon Tyne, South Shields and Sunderland.

The main bus stations in Tyne and Wear are: Gateshead Interchange, Eldon Square, Haymarket, Metrocentre Interchange and Park Lane Interchange.

Connections with local bus services are also available at a number of Tyne and Wear Metro stations, including: Four Lane Ends, Heworth, Jarrow, Regent Centre, South Shields and Wallsend.

Further bus stations in the area are located at: Blaydon, Concord, Hetton-le-Hole, Killingworth, Washington Galleries and Winlaton.

Coach

Long distance National Express coach services operate from Newcastle Coach Station (located on St. James Boulevard), and Park Lane Interchange in Sunderland, with destinations including: Birmingham, Bristol, Chester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Harrogate, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and London.

Megabus coach services also run daily from John Dobson Street in Newcastle upon Tyne, and Park Lane Interchange in Sunderland, with destinations including: Birmingham, Cardiff, Coventry, Cwmbran, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and Sheffield.

Road

Major roads in the area include:


Many of these designations are recent. Upon completion of the Western Bypass, and its designation as the new route of the A1, the roads between this and the former route through the Tyne Tunnel were renumbered. This saw many roads in Newcastle upon Tyne change their 6-prefix, to their present 1-prefix numbers.

Ferry

An International Ferry Terminal is located in the Royal Quays of North Shields. As of February 2020, there is a daily service running to and from Amsterdam IJmuiden. This service is operated by DFDS.[12] Former routes from North Shields include Bergen, Haugesund and Stavanger.

A dedicated shuttle bus service (route 327), currently operated by Go North East, connects with the ferry, running to and from Newcastle Central Station.

The Shields Ferry also operates from North Shields, with the ferry landing located on Ferry Mews. This provides a half-hourly local service between North Shields and South Shields. This service is operated by Nexus.[13]

Ticketing

Bus

Following the deregulation of bus services in 1986, bus operators in Tyne and Wear have been able to set their own routes, fares and timetables.

Rail

Local rail services in Tyne and Wear are operated by Northern. Tickets must be bought before travel at stations with ticketing facilities, these being Heworth, Newcastle and Sunderland. Passengers boarding at Blaydon, Dunston, Manors and Metrocentre can buy tickets on board the train.

All Metro tickets (excluding single journey tickets) covering all zones are valid for travel on Northern services between Sunderland and Newcastle.

Tyne & Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro has a simple fare structure, with the network being split in to three zones (A, B & C). Tickets are offered as single, day, week, four week and annual.[14]

Metro season tickets (week, four week and annual) covering zone A are valid on Quaylink buses Q1 & Q2 between Gateshead and Central Station, and Q3 between St. Peter's Basin and Haymarket.

All Metro tickets (excluding single journey tickets) covering all zones are valid for travel on Northern services between Sunderland and Newcastle, as well as the Shields Ferry.

Further discounts are available for infrequent travellers with Pop PAYG, for students and young people with Pop & Pop Blue, and concessionary pass holders with a Metro Gold Card.

During 2020, up to three children (under 11) can travel on the Tyne and Wear Metro for free at weekends, with a fare paying adult.[15]

Shields Ferry

The Shields Ferry has a simple fare structure, offering single, day, week and four week tickets, as well as a carnet (10 tickets).[16]

All Metro tickets (excluding single journey tickets) covering all zones are valid for use on the Shields Ferry.

During 2020, up to three children (under 11) can travel on the Shields Ferry for free at weekends, with a fare paying adult.

Multi-Operator Tickets

Multi-operator travel tickets are offered by Network One. A Network One travel ticket allows for unlimited travel on most buses, rail, Metro and the Shields Ferry, within the Tyne and Wear area. Tickets are zonal, with the area being split in to five numbered zones, and are available as DayRover (one day), week, four week and annual.[17][18]

The TransFare ticket allows for a single journey to be made within Tyne and Wear using different types of transport (e.g. bus then Metro), provided that the final journey is started within 90 minutes of buying the ticket.

The area is divided in to three TransFare zones, the yellow, green and grey zones. The price of TransFare tickets can vary slightly, depending upon the transport operator selling the ticket. For journeys made more frequently using multiple operators, a Network One season ticket represents better value-for-money than the TransFare ticket.[19]

References

Notes
  1. "Light rail and tram statistics, England: 2018/19" (PDF). Department for Transport. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. "Train timetables". CrossCountry Trains. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  3. "Our timetables". www.lner.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  4. "Timetables for Northern Trains". www.northernrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  5. "Timetables | Download timetables | First TransPennine Express". www.tpexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. "Timetables for Northern Trains". www.northernrailway.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  7. "Sunderland | nexus.org.uk". www.nexus.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  8. "Timetables | Grand Central Rail". www.grandcentralrail.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. "Our timetables". www.lner.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. "Airport data 2018 | UK Civil Aviation Authority". www.caa.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. "Destination Map". www.newcastleairport.com. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  12. http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/ferry-routes/
  13. "Ferry | nexus.org.uk". www.nexus.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. "Fares and ticket guide | nexus.org.uk". www.nexus.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  15. "Take the kids for free | nexus.org.uk". www.nexus.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  16. "Fares | nexus.org.uk". www.nexus.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  17. "Zone Map | Plan Your Route | Network One Tickets". Network One. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  18. "Anytime Ticket". Network One. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  19. "Adult Transfare | nexus.org.uk". www.nexus.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.

Bibliography
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