The Tyne and Wear Metro has been named among the best modern buildings in the North East by the prestigious Chartered Institute of Buildings.
Metro won the award for the best new construction project between 1965 and 1995, pipping the Byker Wall and Newcastle Quayside to the honour.
The awards recognise the huge challenges overcome to build tunnels and bridges in the 1970s that took the revolutionary new light rail system beneath the heart of Newcastle and Gateshead.
Since it opened in 1980 Metro has carried almost 1.5 billion passengers and become a fundamental part of the economic and social life of the region, with lines reaching out to South Shields, Sunderland and Newcastle International Airport, as well as the suburbs of Gateshead and North Tyneside.
More than 10 million people a year now use Monument station, built beneath the centre of Newcastle, making it one of the busiest in the country outside the London area.
Councillor Nick Forbes, lead member for Transport at the North East Combined Authority, said: “To be named among the best modern buildings underlines just what a huge achievement it was to create Metro, and what a vital role it continues to play.
“Metro was at the heart of a vision for public transport that would drive our whole economy – our challenge now is to build on that legacy with ambitious programmes that continue to improve people’s lives.”
Raymond Johnstone, Director of Rail and Infrastructure for Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, said: “A railway may not seem like a ‘building’ at first, but creating Metro meant joining up much older suburban lines with new tunnels and bridges through the urban centre – a huge feat of engineering.
“It seems fitting that metro should be honoured as we reach the halfway point in the £389m modernisation of the system, and make the case for a new train fleet – programmes which between them will secure Metro for decades to come.”
Phill Beaumont, Branch Chair of the CIOB North East, said: “It is a real privilege to play a part in creating the built environment of the future and these awards enabled us to celebrate the people and projects that have shaped this region across the last five decades.
“I would like to congratulate all our winners, who took the time to submit entries, and whose projects have been recognised for their iconic relevance or the significant economic or cultural value they have brought to the people of the North East.”
The CIOB North East Summer Ball and Awards, held at Wynyard Hall, celebrated 50 years of the regional branch by judging submissions for the North East’s best construction projects of the last five decades.
The Tyne and Wear Metro won the award in a category covering 1965-1995, while the Gateshead Millennium Bridge won in a category from 1996 to 2005, and ORE Catapult, formerly known as Narec scooped the Award in the 2006 – 2015 category.