|
The Tyne and Wear Metro is marking its 25th anniversary with a family fun day at its Gosforth depot on Sunday August 7th. It promises to be a great day out with Depot tours, rail displays, fairground rides, live entertainment and workshops for children. Metro operators Nexus are hoping to draw a bumper crowd to the event, which is free to the public, which is running from 11am until 4pm. NOTES The Metro has a proud history and the ball started rolling in 1968 when the Transport Act put local rail in the spotlight. The Tyne and Wear Plan in 1970 recommended changes to the existing rail services. The North Tyne Loop Study in 1972 first suggested a light rail system was the best option for Tyne and Wear. The Metropolitan Railway Bill got Royal Assent in 1973 and that made Metro a reality. Costing £268 million Metro was one of the longest railway engineering projects undertaken in the UK in the last century. Metro was the first light rail system built after the London Underground. As well as building the stations above and below ground approximately 11 miles of new track had to be laid, tunnels driven, a new rail bridge built across the River Tyne and a viaduct across the Ouseburn in Byker. Test track opened in 1975, located in Middle Engine Lane in North Tyneside. Two prototype trains were tested on every aspect of the system they would eventually encounter. The first section of Metro track between Haymarket and Tynemouth was opened to passengers in August 1980. In May 1981 the South Gosforth to Bank Foot line opened. In November 1981 the Haymarket to Heworth line was opened. Metro was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen on November 6th 1981. It was the UK’s first fully integrated public transport system. In November 1991 the Metro line extension to Newcastle Airport was opened. In April 2002 the extension to Sunderland was opened by Her Majesty The Queen. August 2005, Metro celebrates its 25th year.
|
