By Eoin, 17.

The Metro service we are familiar with today was built upon the pre-existing Tyneside Electric Track, which was first built in the early 20th Century. These were in service for a considerable amount of time, serving people from Newcastle to South Shields, following a similar route which is in use today. 

Some of the lines followed older routes, such as the Newcastle to Tynemouth line of the 1800s. The Tyneside Electric Track started to decline in the mid 20th Century, when British railways started to move into private ownership. A transition into using diesel trains also was a factor into the electrics falling into disrepair, and by the 1960s they were no longer in use. 

The Metro project started as a part of the release of a document produced in 1971 called “the transport plan for the 1980s,” with it acting as the central part of an “integrated transport network,” according to Nexus. Throughout the 1970s, much of this track was converted so the first stage of the Metro could be introduced in 1980. The route of the first stage went through Haymarket to Tynemouth before its initial expansion through Gateshead to South Shields. 

The project to create the Metro had large amounts of work required. This included the creation of two bridges, one being the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge over the River Tyne and the other being the Byker Viaduct, with both taking around three years each to build. 

Another major piece of work was underneath Grey’s Monument, known on the network by the station name of Monument, which is the busiest station in the network. When Grey’s Monument was originally built, the foundations did not go very far underground, leading to a risk of the monument toppling if works were not completed to stabilise it. This work took place when the metro station was being built. The cylindrical shape at the centre of the station is that reinforced foundation. 

The tunnelling beneath Newcastle city centre was relatively simple with the ground being made of boulder clay; the tunnels were cylindrical. However, in Gateshead, the ground was made of layers of sandstone and coal, requiring much more rectangular tunnels with a domed roof. This alongside a series of strikes led to delays in the completion of the metro system. With this, the Gateshead side of the network south of the Tyne was opened later than the Newcastle side. 

The Tyne and Wear Metro was also poignant as the first fully wheelchair accessible railway in the country. This was a massive step up from the lack of wheelchair access that existed previously. 

In Part 2, we will look at the Metro from the 1990s up to the 2020s.

Photos by @Ephotographyncl

This was created by young people as part of the Headliners Young Journalist programme. This project was made possible by the Million Hours Fund.