118-580: Gateshead Interchange is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the town of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear , England. It joined the network on 15 November 1981, following the opening of the third phase of the network, between Haymarket and Heworth . The station replaced the former British Rail station , which closed in November 1981, with the Tyne and Wear Metro station situated around 1 ⁄ 4 mi (400 m) to
236-566: A Downer Rail / CRRC joint venture, Hitachi and Stadler Rail were short-listed to build the new fleet. Stadler was awarded a contract to build and maintain 42 five-carriage light rail vehicles in January 2020, with deliveries to commence in late 2021 and all trains to be in passenger service by 2024. The new trains will feature next stop audio-visual information displays, Tube -style linear seating to increase capacity, wider doors and aisles, air conditioning, WiFi and charging points. Following
354-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
472-501: A 70 m (230 ft) stretch of dual track, to be used to carry out infrastructure training, including track, points, signalling and overhead line. The site is also used to stable and maintain a small number of vehicles. During March 2020, the government announced a £103 million scheme, known as Metro Flow , during the 2020 Budget . The project aims to increase frequency from five to six trains per hour, reduce journey times and improve service reliability. From September 2022,
590-644: A Metro up to every three minutes between Pelaw and South Gosforth , at peak times. Originally, there was also a Red Line between Heworth (later Pelaw) and Benton and a Blue Line between St James and North Shields. Additional trains ran on these lines during peak hours to increase the frequency at the busier stations. [REDACTED] Cycle lockers [REDACTED] All stations have step-free access [REDACTED] Cycle lockers [REDACTED] All stations have step-free access All stations have cycle racks or StreetPods Additional trains operate between Pelaw and Monkseaton at peak times The Metro Control Centre
708-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
826-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
944-1102: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
1062-455: A contract to run the operations side of the business on its behalf. The successful bidder was to obtain a seven-year contract commencing on 1 April 2010, with up to an additional two years depending on performance. In February 2009, four bids were shortlisted: DB Regio , MTR Corporation , Serco-Abellio , and an in-house bid from Nexus. By October 2009, the shortlist had been reduced to bids from DB Regio and Nexus. In December 2009, DB Regio
1180-554: A cost of £12 million. The Tyne and Wear Metro is currently operated from a single depot, also based in Gosforth . The depot was opened in 1923 by the London and North Eastern Railway and was used to house the former Tyneside Electrics stock. The depot was inherited by Metro, prior to the system's opening in August 1980. The depot is located at the centre of the triangular fork between
1298-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
SECTION 10
#17330855257211416-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
1534-536: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
1652-570: A lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
1770-658: A maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). The first units to be built were two prototypes, numbered 4001 and 4002, which were delivered for testing in 1975. These were followed by 88 production units, which were built between 1978 and 1981. The design of the Metrocar was based on the Stadtbahnwagen B , a German light rail vehicle developed in the early 1970s. The units were built by Metro-Cammell , Washwood Heath . The fleet has been refurbished several times and several liveries have been used. The original livery used at opening
1888-631: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
2006-529: A new fleet of 46 (originally 42) units, designed by Swiss manufacturer, Stadler . Delivery of the new rolling stock began in February 2023, with the first unit expected to enter service some time between September and November 2023, and the remainder following into 2024 or 2025. It will also see the introduction of a new signalling system, overhaul and maintenance of structures, track and overhead lines, and further station improvements. In July 2018, Nexus announced
2124-673: A number of shops and services, as well as a Nexus TravelShop. Danny Lane's Opening Line installation features in the bus station, and consists of a sequence of forms in steel and glass, stretching about 90 m (300 ft) in length, 1 m (3.3 ft) in width, and up to 5 m (16 ft) in height. It is served by Arriva North East and Go North East 's local bus services, with frequent routes serving Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne , as well as County Durham , South Tyneside , Sunderland and Teesside . The bus station has 13 departure stands (lettered A–N), with an additional stand used by long-distance coach services. Each stand
2242-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
2360-530: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
2478-474: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
SECTION 20
#17330855257212596-511: A unit moving under its own power for the first time, prior to beginning full trials. The first of the new fleet arrived at the Metro depot on 28 February 2023. As of 2024, three of these first nine units delivered had completed their daytime testing and the focus was moving to driver training. Nexus stated that it expects to have the first units in service by the end of 2024, but again no specific date has been given. In addition to passenger trains,
2714-561: Is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with
2832-462: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
2950-565: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
3068-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
3186-404: Is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with a lift providing step-free access to platforms at Gateshead. The station is equipped with ticket machines, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment ), notes and coins. The station
3304-410: Is based at Gosforth , in a building alongside the station at South Gosforth . 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. The original equipment at the control centre was replaced in 2007, with a new computerised signalling control system installed in August 2018 at
3422-560: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
3540-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
3658-498: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
Gateshead Interchange - Misplaced Pages Continue
3776-401: Is fitted with automatic ticket barriers, which were installed at 13 stations across the network during the early 2010s, as well as smartcard validators, which feature at all stations. There is no dedicated car parking available at the station, however there are a number of pay and display car parks operated by Gateshead Council located nearby. A taxi rank is located on Walker Terrace. There
3894-471: Is fitted with seating, next bus information displays, and timetable posters. Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system 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
4012-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
4130-549: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
4248-473: Is located above the Tyne and Wear Metro station. It originally opened on 15 November 1981, and upon opening, was operated by Northern General – despite being designed in the house style of the Tyne and Wear PTE. The original bus station was demolished and re-built in the early 2000s, to a design by Jefferson Sheard Architects . It was officially re-opened on 29 March 2004, by the then Secretary of State for Transport , Alistair Darling . The building houses
4366-480: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
4484-581: Is the provision for cycle parking, with four cycle lockers, five cycle racks and five cycle pods available for use. A large bus interchange is located on the upper level, providing frequent connections across the region. As of April 2021, the station is served by up to ten trains per hour on weekdays and Saturday, and up to eight trains per hour during the evening and on Sunday. Additional services operate between Pelaw and Benton , Monkseaton , Regent Centre or South Gosforth at peak times. Rolling stock used: Class 599 Metrocar Gateshead Interchange
4602-535: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
4720-735: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
4838-624: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
Gateshead Interchange - Misplaced Pages Continue
4956-637: The Newcastle and North Shields Railway , which opened in 1839. During 1904, in response to tramway competition which was taking away passengers, the North Eastern Railway started electrifying parts of their local railway network north of the River Tyne with a 600 V DC third-rail system, forming one of the earliest suburban electric networks, known as the Tyneside Electrics . In 1938,
5074-481: The North Tyneside routes, in 1967. This was widely viewed as a backward step, as the diesel trains were slower than the electric trains they replaced. During the early 1970s, the poor local transport system was identified as one of the main factors holding back the region's economy, and in 1971 a study was commissioned by the recently created Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority (now known as Nexus) into how
5192-831: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
5310-673: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
5428-563: 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. A second extension, from Pelaw to Sunderland and South Hylton , was completed in March 2002. 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. While
5546-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
5664-619: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
5782-491: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
5900-526: The Maintenance and Renewals Skills Centre at South Shields . Since the Tyne and Wear Metro opened in 1980, it has operated using the same rolling stock. The fleet comprises a total of 87 (formerly 90, until March 2017) articulated units, known as Metrocars, which are numbered 4001–4090. The Metrocars are represented on TOPS, as the Class 599. When in service, Metrocars are normally coupled together in pairs and have
6018-446: 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. 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;
SECTION 50
#17330855257216136-410: The Metro schedule. Several purpose-built transport interchanges, such as Four Lane Ends , Heworth and Regent Centre were built for this purpose. Integration was short-lived, and lasted until the deregulation of bus services, in 1986. It is, however, still possible to purchase Transfare tickets, to combine a journey made using multiple modes of transport in Tyne and Wear. During November 1991,
6254-537: The Metro, contracted out operations and train maintenance as part of a deal with the government, to secure modernisation investment and operating subsidy for the system between 2010 and 2021. Nexus continued to set fares, frequency of services and operating hours. Opponents would suggest that this arrangement was privatisation by the back door, though some services had already been contracted out, such as cleaning of stations and ticket inspections. During November 2008, Nexus invited potential bidders to declare an interest in
6372-609: The River Tyne, and the 815 m (2,674 ft) Byker Viaduct across the Ouseburn Valley , between Byker and Manors . Construction work began in October 1974. This involved the construction of the new infrastructure, re-electrifying the routes with overhead line equipment, the upgrading or relocation of existing stations, and the construction of several new stations, some of which were underground. Major civil engineering works on
6490-401: The Tyne and Wear Metro also operates three battery-electric locomotives (numbered BL1–BL3), which were manufactured by Hunslet in 1988. The company also operates a Plasser and Theurer ballast tamper and 15 wagons, which are used for maintenance and repair work. The Tyne and Wear Metro is publicly owned, receiving funding from council tax payers and government. Nexus , which owns and manages
6608-483: The Tyne and Wear Metro was extended to Newcastle Airport at a cost of £12 million. The new section of track, covering a distance of around 2.2 miles (3.5 km), continued along the alignment of the former Ponteland Railway , with two stations constructed at Callerton Parkway and Airport . In March 2002, a £100 million extension, covering 11.5 miles (18.5 km), was opened from Pelaw to Sunderland and South Hylton . The extension used part of
6726-494: The Tyne and Wear Metro, with up to £350 million to be spent on the Metro: All Change programme, over the course of the following eleven years. A further £230 million would support running and maintenance costs, over the following nine years. As a result, between 2010 and 2017, the Metro was operated under contract by DB Regio . Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT )
6844-642: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
6962-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
7080-678: The United Kingdom to be designed to be fully accessible to passengers with disabilities, with step-free access available at all stations across the network. Originally, the Tyne and Wear Metro was intended to be opened in stages between 1979 and 1981. The first stages of the original network (between Haymarket and Tynemouth ) opened in August 1980, with the final stage (between Heworth and South Shields ) opening in March 1984. Extensions to Newcastle Airport and Sunderland opened in 1991 and 2002 respectively. The opening dates of services and stations are as follows: The Sunderland branch of
7198-500: The United Kingdom". 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,
SECTION 60
#17330855257217316-588: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
7434-583: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
7552-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
7670-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
7788-462: The announcement of the £103 million Metro Flow project, in March 2020, four additional Stadler units have been funded, bringing the total number of units on order from 42 to 46. During September 2020, the Metro Futures website was launched, allowing the public to give their view on several elements of the new Metro fleet. In December 2021, Nexus revealed that the Metro fleet had entered
7906-502: The arrival of new rolling stock towards the end of 2021, a new depot was constructed near Howdon , in North Tyneside . The site is used as a temporary stabling and maintenance facility for up to 10 Metrocars, whilst the current depot at South Gosforth is being reconfigured. The temporary depot at Howdon opened in August 2020. A further vehicle stabling and maintenance facility is also scheduled to open in South Tyneside , as part of
8024-470: The beginning of work to construct the new Maintenance and Renewals Skills Centre, at Mile End Road in South Shields . Construction began in August 2018 and was opened in November 2020. The £8.4 million project saw the construction of a three-storey training centre, with classrooms, a mock control room, driver training simulator, covered tracks and inspection pits, and a mock Metro station, as well as
8142-463: The branch to Airport and the northern leg of the North Tyneside Loop . It is situated between stations at Longbenton , South Gosforth and Regent Centre ; it is used for stabling, cleaning, maintenance and repair of the fleet. It can be accessed by trains from either east or west and there is also a depot-avoiding line running from east to west, which is not used in public service. Prior to
8260-862: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
8378-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
8496-433: The day (Monday to Saturday), and up to every 15 minutes during the evening and on Sunday. This allows for a combined frequency of up to every six minutes (Monday to Saturday), and up to every seven to eight minutes during the evening and on 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
8614-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
8732-750: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
8850-581: The existing Durham Coast Line , with the line being adapted to allow a shared service between Metro and rail services – therefore becoming the first system in the United Kingdom to implement a form of the Karlsruhe model . Between Pelaw and Sunderland , intermediate stations at Brockley Whins , East Boldon and Seaburn were re-built, with a further three being purpose-built for the network, at Fellgate , Stadium of Light and St. Peter's . Between Sunderland and South Hylton , around 3 miles (4.8 km) of
8968-477: The existing Metro network, including links to Cramlington , Doxford Park , Killingworth , Metrocentre , Seaham , Team Valley and Washington . In addition to this, plans would see the introduction of street-running trams, river buses across the Tyne , and cable cars , linking 29 key corridors. The project has since been abandoned, with plans reworked and developed into the Metro: All Change programme. The first phase of Metro's All Change programme saw
9086-505: The final assembly phase at Stadler's factory in Switzerland and that the manufacturer is in the process of fitting the main interior components of the first of the new trains. The works include the installation of wheels, seats, equipment cases, piping, wiring, flooring, windows and other internal furnishings. During September 2022, Nexus released a video taken at Stadler's test track in Erlen of
9204-462: The first of these are expected to enter service by the end of 2024. 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. The present system uses much former railway infrastructure, mostly constructed between 1834 and 1882, one of the oldest parts being
9322-479: The former Penshaw-Sunderland line , which closed to passenger traffic in May 1964, was used as the alignment of the route. Five purpose-built stations at Park Lane , University , Millfield , Pallion and South Hylton were constructed for the network. During 2002, Nexus unveiled an ambitious 15-year plan for transport in Tyne and Wear, named Project Orpheus . The project, valued at £1.5 billion, aimed to extend
9440-406: The goal of the refurbishment programme being to extend the service life of the fleet until 2025 prior to the delivery of new rolling stock. Each Metrocar was stripped down to its frame and built back up again, with the addition of improved disabled access and new door control systems, with renewed interiors, seating and lighting. A new black, grey and yellow livery was also adopted. Refurbishment work
9558-437: The initial system – these being the North Tyneside Loop and Newcastle to South Shields branch (both of which were formerly part of the Tyneside Electrics network), and a short stretch of the freight-only Ponteland Railway between South Gosforth and Bank Foot , which had not seen any passenger traffic since 1929. The converted railway lines were to be connected by around 6 mi (10 km) of new infrastructure, which
9676-453: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
9794-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
9912-455: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
10030-436: The line south of the River Tyne between Newcastle and South Shields was also electrified. Under British Rail in the 1960s, the decision was made to de-electrify the Tyneside Electrics network and convert it to diesel operation, owing to falling passenger numbers and the cost of renewing end-of-life electrical infrastructure and rolling stock. The Newcastle to South Shields line was de-electrified in 1963, followed by
10148-499: The majority of this activity being centred 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
10266-451: The modernisation of a further 45 stations, including the re-building of the station at North Shields , which was completed in September 2012, as well as the installation of new communications system, and the overhaul and maintenance of structures such as bridges, tunnels, track and overhead power lines. The third phase of Metro's All Change programme began in 2019, with the procurement of
10384-565: The network were also introduced, as part of the first phase of the All Change programme. The first phase of the programme also saw the completion of a new station at Simonside , in March 2008, as well as the refurbishment and modernisation of Haymarket , in 2009. An upgrade of platforms at Sunderland , and the refurbishment and modernisation of several other stations was also undertaken during this phase. Lifts and escalators were replaced at several stations, between 2009 and 2016. Phase 1 of
10502-587: The network, which runs over National Rail infrastructure, is policed by British Transport Police . The rest of the network is policed by Northumbria Police . When the Tyne and Wear Metro first opened, it was intended to form part of an integrated public transport system, with the local bus network reconfigured to act as 'feeder' services for the Metro. The Metro was intended to cover trunk journeys, while buses were re-designed towards shorter, local trips, to bring passengers to and from Metro stations, using unified ticketing , and with their timetable integrated with
10620-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
10738-542: The programme also involved the overhaul of infrastructure, including communications, track and overhead power lines, structures and embankments. Phase 2 of the All Change programme saw the £20 million refurbishment of 86 Tyne and Wear Metrocars (originally all 90 Metrocars were due to be refurbished). Each Metrocar was stripped down to its frame and built back up again, with the addition of improved disabled access, new door control systems, and renewed interiors, seating and lighting. A new cadmium yellow and black livery
10856-621: The project will see three sections of single line between Pelaw and Bede converted to dual use, with an existing freight-only line electrified, and re-designed to operate using a similar system to the shared line between Pelaw and Sunderland . As part of the project, four additional Stadler units have been funded, bringing the total number of units on order from 42 to 46. The Tyne and Wear Metro network consists of two lines: Services commence between 05:00 and 06:00 (between 06:00 and 07:00 on Sunday), with frequent trains running until around midnight. Each line runs up to every 12 minutes during
10974-540: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
11092-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
11210-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
11328-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
11446-613: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
11564-415: The south west of the former. The design of the station is very different from the underground stations in central Newcastle, due to the different rock structure south of the River Tyne . The running tunnels are square, rather than circular in cross-section, with the station excavated as a box. Keith Grant's Night and Day artworks were commissioned for the station in the early 1980s, at opposite ends of
11682-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
11800-428: The start of a £25 million project to install new ticket machines at all 60 stations across the network. Unlike the former ticket machines, which only accepted payment with coins, the new machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (with an upgrade to accept contactless payment in 2013), notes and coins. Automated ticket barriers (at 13 stations), and smart card validators at all stations across
11918-399: The station at platform level. The artwork consists of two mosaic mountain peaks, set against the backdrop of a day and night sky. Upon leaving the station (trains towards Newcastle), a second art installation is visible in the tunnel. Elizabeth Wright's Space Travel was commissioned in 2005, and showcases a series of 115 images which read like a short animated film strip. Step-free access
12036-534: The surface included two bridges, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and the Byker Viaduct . By 1984, the final cost of the project was £265 million (equivalent to £855 million in 2023). The Tyne and Wear Metro was the first railway in the United Kingdom to operate using the metric system , with all speeds and distances stated in metric units only. It was also the first transport system in
12154-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
12272-499: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
12390-401: The transport system could be improved. This study recommended reviving the badly run-down former Tyneside Electrics network by converting it into an electrified rapid transit system, which would include a new underground section to better serve the busy central areas of Newcastle and Gateshead , as it was felt that the existing rail network didn't serve these areas adequately. This new system
12508-455: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
12626-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
12744-606: Was cadmium yellow and white, in accordance with the colours used by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive at the time. A mid-life refurbishment of the fleet, carried out in-house, took place between 1995 and 2000; a new livery was adopted consisting of red, green or blue bodies, with yellow front and rear ends, and triangles containing the Metro logo on the doors. A £20 million refurbishment of 86 Metrocars (originally all 90 were due to be refurbished) began in June 2010, with
12862-415: Was also adopted. Work commenced in June 2010, at Wabtec at Doncaster Works , and was completed five months ahead of schedule, in August 2015. The first Metrocar to receive refurbishment was 4041, the unit being named after former Gateshead Councillor and MP, Harry Cowans , in honour of his work in the 1970s, to help to secure the construction of the network. The second phase of the programme also saw
12980-409: Was built both to separate the Metro from the existing rail network, and also to create the new underground routes under Newcastle and Gateshead. Around 4 mi (6 km) of the new infrastructure was in tunnels , whilst the remainder was either at ground level or elevated. The elevated sections included the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge , a new 350 m (1,150 ft) bridge carrying the Metro across
13098-527: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
13216-517: Was completed five months ahead of schedule in August 2015. During 2016, Nexus unveiled plans to secure funding of £550 million for a replacement fleet, with a target for them to be in service by the early 2020s. In November 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer , Philip Hammond , announced that the government would contribute £337 million towards the new fleet. The proposed new fleet
13334-616: Was intended to be the core of a new integrated transport network, with buses acting as feeders to purpose-built transport interchanges. The plans were approved by the Tyneside Metropolitan Railway Act 1973 (c. xxxii), which was passed by Parliament in July. Around 70% of the funding for the scheme came from a central government grant, with the remainder coming from local sources. Three railway lines, totalling 26 miles (42 km) were to be converted into Metro lines as part of
13452-662: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
13570-535: Was named as the preferred bidder, with the contract for operating the system signed in February 2010, and the handover of the service taking place in April 2010. One of DB Regio's first initiatives was the Metro Dig It programme, and involved the re-painting of stations and deep-cleaning of stations and trains. In February 2010, the government confirmed it would award Nexus up to £580 million to modernise and operate
13688-485: Was planned to have dual-voltage capability, able to operate on the Metro's existing 1,500 V DC electrification system as well as the 25 kV 50 Hz AC used on the Network Rail network, to allow for expansion of Metro service. However Nexus decided not to include a dual-voltage design, prioritising use of rechargable battery technology instead. In September 2018, Bombardier , CAF ,
13806-610: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
13924-517: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
#720279