Hi all
Here is some interesting items about our local Metro system near where I live.
Yesterday the Tyne and Wear metro system was 30 years old.
This was Britains first urban light rail transport system.
The route has expanded since it was opened by the Queen on the 11th August 1980 .
The Metro system now has 74.5km of track and 60 stations. It employs around 600 members of staff and carries over 40 million passengers per year.
Here is a link for more info and pictures.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/tyne/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8897000/8897970.stm
METRO KEY DATES
1971: Transport planners devise a light rail solution for urban transport integration on Tyneside.
1972: Following extensive lobbying the Government agrees to fund the Metro project.
1974: Construction gets underway with tunnels driven beneath the streets of Newcastle and new viaducts built across the River Tyne and Ouseburn.
1975: Prototype passenger cars begin trials at a purpose built Metro test centre.
1981: Metro is officially opened by The Queen.
1984: The final phase of 55km Metro system is opened in South Shields.
1991: The Metro link to Newcastle Airport is completed.
1996: Railway privatisation, but Nexus, the new name for the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority, keeps its responsibility for Metro.
2002: The £100m extension of Metro to Sunderland is opened by The Queen.
2005: Metro marks its 25th anniversary.
2009: Nexus secures funding for Metro modernisation, securing the long-term future of the system.
Here is some interesting items about our local Metro system near where I live.
Yesterday the Tyne and Wear metro system was 30 years old.
This was Britains first urban light rail transport system.
The route has expanded since it was opened by the Queen on the 11th August 1980 .
The Metro system now has 74.5km of track and 60 stations. It employs around 600 members of staff and carries over 40 million passengers per year.
Here is a link for more info and pictures.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/tyne/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8897000/8897970.stm
METRO KEY DATES
1971: Transport planners devise a light rail solution for urban transport integration on Tyneside.
1972: Following extensive lobbying the Government agrees to fund the Metro project.
1974: Construction gets underway with tunnels driven beneath the streets of Newcastle and new viaducts built across the River Tyne and Ouseburn.
1975: Prototype passenger cars begin trials at a purpose built Metro test centre.
1981: Metro is officially opened by The Queen.
1984: The final phase of 55km Metro system is opened in South Shields.
1991: The Metro link to Newcastle Airport is completed.
1996: Railway privatisation, but Nexus, the new name for the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority, keeps its responsibility for Metro.
2002: The £100m extension of Metro to Sunderland is opened by The Queen.
2005: Metro marks its 25th anniversary.
2009: Nexus secures funding for Metro modernisation, securing the long-term future of the system.
