Hello! Me again!
I hope there’s not some sort of limit to the number of these I can write up in a given time! I’ll run out of money soon anyway, I was just very proactive about making sure I got plenty of cheap Advances for early summer (and what a summer it has turned out to be eh?).
This report is about the next step in my target to have all the Light Rail / Metro systems covered. I recently bagged the last bit of track on the DLR and Tramlink, plus, as a local; I’ve got hundreds of Metrolink miles clocked up. Supertam and Midland Metro are coming along too, but Nottingham might just have to wait until they’ve opened the extensions! But there are some places I’ve just never been to, and annoyingly Scotland is still one of them. So was the North East… until now! My plan was to cover all of the Tyne and Wear Metro in a day, and if I had time left at the end to get off at stations and have a brief look around – more just around the station itself than the surrounding area really, but as long as I got a feel for what Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland are like that’s what I wanted to take away with me.
So, armed with my pair of £7.45 Advances and – horror of horrors – a packed lunch (yes, I am resorting to this now on the grounds that the less I spend on convenience food the more I have for train tickets) I arrived at Manchester Piccadilly just after 07:00 Saturday morning for the 07:27 First TransPennine Express departure for Newcastle… which was cancelled.
Not a wonderful start to the day, but it could have been worse. I reasoned that a full hour’s wait wouldn’t be necessary and connections would be available at York. Rather than try to work them out myself and face the conundrum of if it was OK for me to use CrossCountry or East Coast services (indeed, if I excluded them from the search there would be no point in changing at York at all as the next TPE to Newcastle would be from Manchester!) I decided to pop into the Travel Centre/Ticket Office/I’m not sure they can make their minds up at Piccadilly.
I can only repeat of this place what I say on here most of the time; it’s basically a lottery. I went to the first available desk and presented my advance tickets, saying I’d been booked on the 07:27 to Newcastle, but I was cut off and told “Get the 7:57 and change at York.” – and it was apparent that was it. ‘I don’t think so.’ I thought and did my best to smile broadly and say “Okay, thank you. Which train should I change to at York, please?” “The one that goes to Newcastle.”
It’s not just the passengers that come out with these little gems (à la: “Can I have a return ticket please?” “Where to” “Why, back here of course!”?). I managed to splutter something about terminating before the member of staff finally, begrudgingly consulted their computer. A few seconds later I was handed a printout and the word “Edinburgh.” And thought I better leave it at that and count myself lucky!
Since I now had what I thought I could reasonably interpret as a ‘replacement’ itinerary of booked trains to keep to (since it was apparent that the large-scale disruption meant endorsements to Advance tickets weren’t going to be effective) I decided to leave the station again and not worry about the possibility of the original booked train being reinstated in the 20 minutes remaining until its departure time. It was still showing as cancelled and I would be back for the 07:57 Middlesbrough service.
I went for a brief walk around the Piccadilly delta at Piccadilly Gardens to see what was what in the world of Metrolink. Quite a bit, as it happened, as there had been a power failure on the East Manchester line and the service was suspended between Piccadilly and Droylsden. I snapped a few rare destinations on my phone, including “Victoria via MediaCityUK” (usually runs in the evening as trams are returning to Queen’s Road Depot),
“Timperley” (generally short-turnback due to late running) and “Piccadilly Gardens” (totally inexplicable!).
Note also the Metrolink TVM there for comparison purposes. Here are the Tyne and Wear ones:
I didn’t dare use the tram in this state having seen a queue of about five waiting to enter Piccadilly Undercroft on my walk down past TfGM Towers, presumably due to them having to wait to reverse there. So I walked back to the station and went to Platform 4, where a 185 sat dormant and someone who I think was a guard stood on the platform at the front of it, looking expectant.
I thought I knew why: the service begins at Manchester Airport, and was listed on the Arrivals board at the station, so all those people standing by the locked up unit were in the wrong place. As it happened, it didn’t matter, when the 185 came in from the Airport I got on it and found a seat, but they were coupled up!
What exactly happened to this train is anyone’s guess… Crossover and I have discussed it at length inconclusively. It was a 6 car unit, advertised all the way from Manchester as a Middlesbrough service… but it split at York and the rear portion went to Scarborough! Anyway, it was the most comfortable part of the journey, even if I was sat opposite a rather overbearing sounding father and his daughter as they talked their snobbery about Universities. The guard caught me rather by surprise in asking for tickets, I hadn’t heard him approach (if I’m honest I thought he’d be in the rear unit, but perhaps there were plenty of crew on this train, as I found out it was going to split), so I forgot to mention that I was no longer on my booked service. My guess is they were all up to speed though because he didn’t say anything.
On approach to York the guard announced that passengers for stations to Newcastle should change there, and said that TPE ONLY Advances would be accepted on XC services… but made no mention of East Coast. I wonder if I could have used a following EC service legitimately or otherwise? I wish I’d considered it too, because after stopping for a moment to admire the typically East-Coasty off-centre signs at York:
A 4 coach Voyager turned up! Worst nightmare! With only 3 coaches to go at, most of which already had the majority of seats taken, the ride was standing out of York. I reflected at this point how fun it must be to check the tickets of the passengers who occupy the cycle racks and lie on the floor of the trains in the vestibules. I also noted that the brave man who did come checking tickets did not appear to be the Train Manager who had introduced herself in an announcement. What IS the deal with this? Just how many staff do XC trains have!? Anyway, it all got much the worse when we arrived at Darlington, as great many people were waiting to board but I think we might have left some behind. I’ve no idea what first was like for standing but it ought to have been declassified! The shouts of “Can you move down please?” were not only far more at home on commuter trains but also impossible to comply with. I got chatting to the leader of a group of tourists who was curious as to why all of the emergency equipment was green. I pointed out that the passcom was red, and maybe the green Emergency Door Release handle was like an Emergency Exit sign? There came an (incredibly quiet! Well at least for the cramped vestibule) announcement that we would not be calling at Chester-le-Street, which had been on the boards at York and Darlington, but I couldn’t work out why it was being omitted as we were hardly two minutes late! I felt very guilty informing a lady across from me of what the announcement had said, she mentioned she was going to Chester-le-Street but had earphones in. Looking back now, it doesn’t appear as though the train which departs York at 09:32 even has a booked call at Chester-le-Street!
Not quite the entrance I had planned, but I finally arrived at Newcastle (Central, if East Coast are to be trusted) and went down to buy a ticket from one of the new Metro machines. The printing does seem to be a tad primitive and it’s interesting that they use different stock to issue receipts, so is that why there are two ticket out slots? I wonder why they didn’t go for the same type of machines (or perhaps, configuration is a better word if it’s the same manufacturer) as Metrolink where the tickets are dropped into a tray. It seems to have prevented them from working in NR ticket gates too, not that that is testable on a Metrolink ticket because there is no magnetic stripe.
I really am quite impressed with this Metro system. Like the DLR, as Light Rail goes, this one has the significant advantage of not being a tram. Combine segregation with a few tunnels so it can penetrate city centres and you’ve basically got it made for a light rail system, it seems. This is not to say there is not one point firmly in the Tramway’s court: I think that Metrolink and Supertam penetrate their respective City Centre’s better even than LU does Central London by virtue of the very quick walk from the street to the platform (again, low-floor trams are clearly the best it gets for this, but they were just too cheap in Manchester I guess). Anyway my point is T&W Metro is no exception, there is still quite a walk, but it’s not nearly as arduous as some LU stations!
The first Metrocar I got on was dedicated ‘Robert Stephenson’ which I thought was nice. It was the first one to arrive, and I had almost no idea what to expect from the journey down to South Hylton. I have heard some ‘interesting’ stories about Nexus’ photography policy, so I tried to keep all of mine surreptitious. Not that they are any good anyway, but I’ll try to include some of the better ones.
The view from the front is really good! The well-practised tactic of sitting at the back so you are at the front when the vehicle reverses served me well in this instance. Having said that I would suspect the drivers would prefer a less cramped cab! It looks barely more than 1/3 the width of the train! Not that I’m complaining! Here’s the excellent view at South Hylton:
I was a bit surprised that the section of shared tracks is so long actually, I knew Sunderland station was but not all the way to nearly Heworth! It seems odd that the Northern trains pass through these Metro stations at such high speeds too…
The journey back towards Newcastle was much busier, it was just after 11 so not that unexpected, but it had been rather quiet after Sunderland on the way down. This really got me thinking about the number of Health and Safety/Warning notices about… there are a lot. Compared to other places, it seems as though there is a barrage of information. There are signs everywhere about Penalty Fares and entrance/exit to the ‘Compulsory Ticket Area’, abuse of staff, not holding the doors open or blocking them, using the right side of escalators, vandalism, trespass ect. I feel a bit like that on London Underground occasionally, and some London TOCs are even worse for it, but the new “Travelling without a ticket is stealing” signs and announcements and the occasional warning about staff having the right to a safe working environment notwithstanding, there really isn’t much on Metrolink. I thought the “Do Not Trespass” choice of words was… interesting, since it doesn’t actually make clear that going beyond the sign is trespassing. It’s clear to most that trespass isn’t allowed, else why call it that?
Anyway, the photo in the platform brings up the next thing which confused me… what is with the platform lengths!? Some seem really long, but almost all seem longer than two Metrocars. I haven’t done much research, but I’d guess all services are run by a pair of them? Do they generally remain coupled to the same pairs or can they be swapped around? The refurbished platform at Haymarket seems so long that it could take 3 cars, and there look like extra sections of platform in the tunnels of some other underground stations, which have been sealed off. Is there a plan to use longer trains in future?
I got off at Monument to see what I could see:
I think that embodies the impressive architecture of this part of the country quite well in one shot. Just look at it… You couldn’t mistake this for anywhere else.
Quite a good station, bit grotty but if it gets the same treatment as Haymarket it’ll be as good a ‘hub’ station for this Metro as can be. Perhaps it could do with a bit more to make its presence visible at street level? Not sure, there is a big yellow ‘M’ there.
I decided to go around the big loop via ‘The Coast’ next. Because this is used as a destination it’s odd that it isn’t the name of a station – but I really do need to get used to the idea that it’s helpful to people, so it should be embraced, even if it is non-standard or inconsistent. It’s highly commendable some of the lengths which are gone to in order to provide information to Metro passengers. The countdown screens are… acceptable in their use of an ‘m’, at least it’s not a capital like it is on Tramlink! They all seemed to be working and providing information about Sunday closures coming up (now that I’ve said that, the one at Monument on the platform bound for The Coast was ONLY showing closures information and other warnings – no departures!). However, Metrolink still have better screens and it kind of irks me that Blackpool and Sheffield don’t seem to believe in live running information… What really make this good are the announcements! I think they have got the platform announcements just right, and the continuity of them and the fact that they seem to be at every station is really pleasing. It is a bit odd that they make automatic announcements for platforms even when only one destination is possible, but very useful indeed where there is more than one. Though the fact that every station has every platform numbered gives this a ‘big railway’ feel of sophistication I think, so even where it’s not always necessary it can be useful and doesn’t hurt. I like it. A lot of National Rail stations I can think of (Northern ones, obviously) don’t have platform numbers! The train I boarded was for ‘The Coast’ according to the screens, but ‘South Shields’ on the front of the train! Indeed, the latter was more correct, but you’d have to be mad to get on it if that were your real destination. I’m glad they have avoided the problems that a ‘pretzel-shaped’ network could easily have caused for people.
As I made my smooth, speedy journey out towards ‘The Coast’ I thought about the on-train PIS too. It hadn’t been working on the train to South Hylton so this was where I really got a feel for it. Overall, I like it. It’s simple and clear, but I think it comes on a bit too often. It says “This is” as you are approaching the station too, which is quite comical! I think Crossover said something about this too me (puts me in mind of a 333 “This train terminates here” – what, in the middle of a field?). I’m struggling to remember the exact format, but the destination could perhaps be listed a bit more often, as you only seem to get it on leaving an origin station? Connections advice is good, and I really DO like the fact that you are given a platform number if your change is onto another Metro train. The punctuation on the screens was a bit poor mind you. Loads of missing full stops and commas! This would be OK if punctuation was not used… but it is. Incorrectly!
The stations out here seem to have received a ‘refresh’ with the black branding like that at Haymarket.
Refurbished Metrocars, refurbished station, that's what it's all about!!
North Shields station was impressive too, though I really do not get why the third platform has had a ramp built over it, which is only open when there’s no lift anyway! Is this often? That platform really could have been useful for turning extra services between Newcastle and North Shields and the track is all still there! I think it was Ainsworth74 who said they could do with a more frequent service through the core and perhaps St James – North Shields would make a good candidate? The platform got rather busy and I was glad they only use double trains. Though having said that, comparing frequencies to anything Northern can offer… it’s fantastic!
I really enjoyed the views of the old station at Tynemouth:
The way the track bends in and out does look funny!
Really good to see this canopy being maintained.
There had been some event on at the time in the station building too! I went back later for those.
I was impressed by the number of ‘local’ and ‘short hop’ journeys that people were making around this loop, it’s good to see plenty of people not just going in and out of one of the City Centres on the route! I hope this means its not ignored in terms of revenue though, I doubt many of these stations are getting gated? My journey continued all the way round to South Gosforth, where I didn’t bother getting off because an Airport train, where I wanted to go next, was just arriving in the opposite platform! D’oh! This interchange needs to be an island! I changed at West Jesmond – which fitted the category of being more substantial than expected, with a bridge and a tunnel! Which didn’t smell of urine!
Very pleased to encounter a refurbished Metrocar pair next too:
This had addressed my only real criticism too that I’d come up with: the floors, seats and other fittings of the unrefurbished trains were starting to get really very dirty and worn. But these are bright, clean and new. Lights have been installed at floor level too – is this because of gaps? I notice M5000s don’t have them, while almost all other new trains do. I don’t remember seeing any on the DLR or other trams though; hence my guess is that they are a requirement if there are gaps.
The PIS seems unchanged (testament to the fact that it was good already) but another major improvement is a more conventional ‘doors open’ tone and a proper doors closing alarm, rather than a random loud buzz and a ‘doors closing’ message, which didn’t always seem to immediately precede the actual closing of train doors.
Having spent quite a while standing around the coast, I was glad of a good seat for the ride back down to Heworth from the Airport – right at the front, and I was the only passenger in that car!
It was there I planned to board a fast Northern service to Sunderland. Heworth is a strange station… it’s had gates installed, though like all the others, they weren’t operational (Have they actually been used yet? Were they just off because it was the weekend?), but it seems the National Rail station just allows you to walk right through to the platform side? There really is a contrast here. The Metro station has screens and announcements, lots of signage and is undercover, has many ticket machines, a ‘Travel Shop’, staff and gates. The Northern station has two benches and two posters. That’s it.
If I were they, I would not want my name associated with this!
It does seem that Nexus' rail area is tiny compared to that of West or South Yorkshire, or even TfGM. It has hardly any NR stations in it, but at least Metro fills much of the void... for commuters anyway - the lack of a return fare is a bit disappointing as £4.40 is good value if you cover the whole network, but not that great just for a return Newcastle to South Shields! Perhaps there are implications with smart ticketing here. Will Northern be accepting it.... eventually?
Anyway, I see now that there are at least platform numbers! I was only 10 minutes in advance of the train but the platform was utterly deserted. Surprisingly, 5-6 people turned up in the last couple of minutes for the train! They must all have it down to a fine art, as this would of course be faster than the next Metro service if travelling to Sunderland and it has a much lower journey time.
A 142 pacer. It’s as though Northern wanted me to be upset with them… actually, I was very amused. The guard was waving goodbye to someone at Heworth, which I thought was interesting (re my comments about waving to the guard like you might say thanks to the bus driver down on the Cardiff Valleys). The guard sold someone a ticket who asked her when boarding at the back of the train then walked off to the front carriage, ignoring me and not asking to see my T&W Metro ticket (which a member of staff in the Metro station did say was valid on the Northern service… I think!). I think she was resuming her check out of Newcastle, and was spending quite a while talking and laughing with some people! They must have been regulars, and my theory that she is a real ‘community guard’ was confirmed, I think, when we arrived at Sunderland because she withdrew a box of eggs with a handmade label from the cab, and passed them to one of the platform staff! He thanked her kindly and paid her! The mind boggles at the localism… But what a nice thought? Message in there for all those DOO supporters (I think all of my trip reports have contained one of those actually lol. Go guards!).
Anyway I had a little look around Sunderland.
Love the fact that they’ve used logos in the TOC column of the departure board! Though I wonder how many members of the public know what ‘TOC’ stands for? It’s good to see the Metro seamlessly integrating with the PIS just as it does on the tracks.
Now then! Let’s make sure nobody mistakes this Grand Central 180 for the Metro to the Airport! Haha! The boards for platform 3 actually did have ‘Airport’ on them too while the train was in the platform because it’s so long. Glad nobody fell for it…
It looks like its own fully fledged City Centre! And funny that it’s an underground National Rail station, given how much that would cost to build nowadays, it’s quite an asset! I’ve heard bad things about the condition of this station but it’s OK now.
The artwork on one wall and this inspired light show on the other one really do brighten it up. All the blue puts me in mind of St Pancras LL a bit. I really thought that they were real people walking past too at first! Haha!
I made my journey back up to Pelaw to get the last branch done: South Shields.
Looks kind of cute like that, doesn’t it?
It wasn’t as interesting as the others and it certainly did seem busier! The stations looked more rundown and there were plenty of single track sections to accommodate a Network Rail line too.
Another ‘High Street’ there … hmm.
I didn’t go exploring here, but did note the barriers at South Shields. I really am sort of glad these are going ahead… because it is OK if it helps to protect revenue and the stations are completely enclosed in many cases. Nevertheless, I can’t help but think that barriering it kind of defeats the object of light rail… though staffing them ought not to be a problem and they must have to staff the underground stations anyway. I wish Nexus all the best with their ‘Pop’ card too. It’s at a much more advanced stage than TfGM have managed to get theirs to. I’ve honestly forgotten what they have named our Smartcard as I type the name is so awful. I’m not joking I know its three short-ish words but I just can’t remember them. They have got their ticketing and some zones sorted too – unlike Metrolink. The readers on gates, ticket machines and platforms are all seemingly in place, even if they aren’t being used yet, so it’s clear they are advancing well. I can’t express how annoying it is that it’s taken this many years to get these projects off the ground outside London – and Manchester are lagging! Ticket checking was going OK too, I had it once on the Airport branch and once leaving Monument, and there appeared to be blocks on at Gateshead Stadium and somewhere else too.
As I didn’t have long left, I thought I’d better get the last bit of track down into St James done, after a very brief look around Gateshead station:
Not in an amazing state at the mo due to refurbishment, it seems.
I like this font Nexus have chosen. Iconic in its own way
Not like the TfL one, but still.
Gateshead seemed to have yet another town centre… how many of these are there in such a small radius? Or is it just that they are actually considered miles away and the Metro covers the distances incredibly quickly? How often would someone who lives in a suburb of Sunderland visit Newcastle City Centre and vice versa?
St James was covered in football stuff, which is because, as I’m told (I really don’t know much about football) Newcastle has a rare stadium attribute in that it is very close to the City Centre. What amused me was the long way up from the platforms to the concourse area, which was all hollowed out giving the station a very ‘cavernous’ feel. Some people were waiting for a train on the other platform… and had to run all the way up and then all the way back down again to catch the one that I came in on! Surely there is some system in place to tell people which platform to go to? That’s something of a flaw if not!
Nice touch… Football pitch in the tiles.
My final stop for the day would be Wallsend, I decided, to catch something I thought I’d seen there earlier… and YES! I had been right! Latin signs! Wow!
Now that is cultured! I should have guessed the name of the station had something to do with Hadrian’s Wall. The next stop “Hadrian Road” gives a further clue. There are now posters in situ explaining this. I hadn’t realised just how far North I was coming! Previously the furthest north I had ever been was Carlisle, I mean that in the Railway sense, the City sense and the literal and physical sense. I remember the point where I stood near the North end of the platform that was ‘The furthest North I’ve ever been’… which it looks like is no longer true! I brief glance at Google maps suggests Monkseaton to be the Northernmost T&W Metro station? In which case I need to update my factoid.
That was all I had time for anyway and I wanted to be back in good time at the station to get some TPE claim forms and an Evening Return from Mauldeth Road where I was going back to (the East Coast ticket clerk did not quite believe that it only cost 90p!). This was a nice touch:
So they think it is “Newcastle Central” too. Well… those boards thought it was “Gateshead MetroCtr” too, which I have never seen Northern using before. Dore & Totley anyone?
Even at 18:00 on a Saturday, things were… rowdy at the station. I went outside to admire the architecture and was approached by screaming drunkards and had to dodge around a few people. But look at this for an over-engineered drop off point!
It’s a shame the road outside is all being dug up.
There were loads of BTP everywhere and three “Rail Response” (whatever that is) guys doing some sort of raid on the toilets…
I was happy to watch some 225s go and was stood on the platform opposite my waiting 185 home when a HST arrived. The staff weren’t around where I was standing, so I thought I’d help them out as it was running late by closing some of the doors. I got the feeling that my efforts weren’t appreciated though – because I forgot to close the windows! I’m a bit of a stranger to HSTs… does the guard not usually close some doors as well? And what about… you know… some of the passengers? Do they never close them? Are we not supposed to close them, in case they are left ajar and they can’t be locked?
My waiting 185.
I wish I could say the journey home was uneventful, but a Saturday night through Newcastle, York and then Leeds and on to Manchester was anything but. There was no ticket check until York either, which I though was poor since we stopped at Chester-le-Street which must have had people needing to buy tickets? When he did check, the guard seemed to have enlisted back up, because between York and Leeds there were two guards.
I don’t know how some of the people who got on at Leeds got past the barriers, they were just too drunk. It was nearing 21:00 by this time, but some guy was so drunk he’d been to the toilet and not managed to ‘cover himself up’ properly. Should have been arrested, frankly, or at least refused travel. Then there was the woman at Dewsbury who was dressed up as God knows what, who tried I think to dispatch the train, but not using a standard white dispatch bat… She waved said pink pointy object in the guards face just as he was closing the doors, hahaha! He was NOT a happy bunny. Honestly, I don’t know how some staff on this route cope. Scratch that I’m not sure how I will cope given that I might actually be moving to Leeds soon : (
I did manage to catch this one 'beautiful moment' with the sun in the foreground on the yellow rapeseed plants, contrasting with dark clouds in the distance
Anyway, at least we were on time getting back into Manchester Pic, even if that does take hours. On the whole, a very enjoyable day out Thank you Geordies! Though not quite the same as my trip to Cardiff – I loved that so much I want to go back there again.
I’m glad I went and I’ve seen it, plus the Metro really is fantastic, but I don’t think I will say that I could live in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Thanks for reading!
PS Apologies for any spelling errors, note time of posting.
I hope there’s not some sort of limit to the number of these I can write up in a given time! I’ll run out of money soon anyway, I was just very proactive about making sure I got plenty of cheap Advances for early summer (and what a summer it has turned out to be eh?).
This report is about the next step in my target to have all the Light Rail / Metro systems covered. I recently bagged the last bit of track on the DLR and Tramlink, plus, as a local; I’ve got hundreds of Metrolink miles clocked up. Supertam and Midland Metro are coming along too, but Nottingham might just have to wait until they’ve opened the extensions! But there are some places I’ve just never been to, and annoyingly Scotland is still one of them. So was the North East… until now! My plan was to cover all of the Tyne and Wear Metro in a day, and if I had time left at the end to get off at stations and have a brief look around – more just around the station itself than the surrounding area really, but as long as I got a feel for what Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland are like that’s what I wanted to take away with me.
So, armed with my pair of £7.45 Advances and – horror of horrors – a packed lunch (yes, I am resorting to this now on the grounds that the less I spend on convenience food the more I have for train tickets) I arrived at Manchester Piccadilly just after 07:00 Saturday morning for the 07:27 First TransPennine Express departure for Newcastle… which was cancelled.
Not a wonderful start to the day, but it could have been worse. I reasoned that a full hour’s wait wouldn’t be necessary and connections would be available at York. Rather than try to work them out myself and face the conundrum of if it was OK for me to use CrossCountry or East Coast services (indeed, if I excluded them from the search there would be no point in changing at York at all as the next TPE to Newcastle would be from Manchester!) I decided to pop into the Travel Centre/Ticket Office/I’m not sure they can make their minds up at Piccadilly.
I can only repeat of this place what I say on here most of the time; it’s basically a lottery. I went to the first available desk and presented my advance tickets, saying I’d been booked on the 07:27 to Newcastle, but I was cut off and told “Get the 7:57 and change at York.” – and it was apparent that was it. ‘I don’t think so.’ I thought and did my best to smile broadly and say “Okay, thank you. Which train should I change to at York, please?” “The one that goes to Newcastle.”
It’s not just the passengers that come out with these little gems (à la: “Can I have a return ticket please?” “Where to” “Why, back here of course!”?). I managed to splutter something about terminating before the member of staff finally, begrudgingly consulted their computer. A few seconds later I was handed a printout and the word “Edinburgh.” And thought I better leave it at that and count myself lucky!
Since I now had what I thought I could reasonably interpret as a ‘replacement’ itinerary of booked trains to keep to (since it was apparent that the large-scale disruption meant endorsements to Advance tickets weren’t going to be effective) I decided to leave the station again and not worry about the possibility of the original booked train being reinstated in the 20 minutes remaining until its departure time. It was still showing as cancelled and I would be back for the 07:57 Middlesbrough service.
I went for a brief walk around the Piccadilly delta at Piccadilly Gardens to see what was what in the world of Metrolink. Quite a bit, as it happened, as there had been a power failure on the East Manchester line and the service was suspended between Piccadilly and Droylsden. I snapped a few rare destinations on my phone, including “Victoria via MediaCityUK” (usually runs in the evening as trams are returning to Queen’s Road Depot),
“Timperley” (generally short-turnback due to late running) and “Piccadilly Gardens” (totally inexplicable!).
Note also the Metrolink TVM there for comparison purposes. Here are the Tyne and Wear ones:
I didn’t dare use the tram in this state having seen a queue of about five waiting to enter Piccadilly Undercroft on my walk down past TfGM Towers, presumably due to them having to wait to reverse there. So I walked back to the station and went to Platform 4, where a 185 sat dormant and someone who I think was a guard stood on the platform at the front of it, looking expectant.
I thought I knew why: the service begins at Manchester Airport, and was listed on the Arrivals board at the station, so all those people standing by the locked up unit were in the wrong place. As it happened, it didn’t matter, when the 185 came in from the Airport I got on it and found a seat, but they were coupled up!
What exactly happened to this train is anyone’s guess… Crossover and I have discussed it at length inconclusively. It was a 6 car unit, advertised all the way from Manchester as a Middlesbrough service… but it split at York and the rear portion went to Scarborough! Anyway, it was the most comfortable part of the journey, even if I was sat opposite a rather overbearing sounding father and his daughter as they talked their snobbery about Universities. The guard caught me rather by surprise in asking for tickets, I hadn’t heard him approach (if I’m honest I thought he’d be in the rear unit, but perhaps there were plenty of crew on this train, as I found out it was going to split), so I forgot to mention that I was no longer on my booked service. My guess is they were all up to speed though because he didn’t say anything.
On approach to York the guard announced that passengers for stations to Newcastle should change there, and said that TPE ONLY Advances would be accepted on XC services… but made no mention of East Coast. I wonder if I could have used a following EC service legitimately or otherwise? I wish I’d considered it too, because after stopping for a moment to admire the typically East-Coasty off-centre signs at York:
A 4 coach Voyager turned up! Worst nightmare! With only 3 coaches to go at, most of which already had the majority of seats taken, the ride was standing out of York. I reflected at this point how fun it must be to check the tickets of the passengers who occupy the cycle racks and lie on the floor of the trains in the vestibules. I also noted that the brave man who did come checking tickets did not appear to be the Train Manager who had introduced herself in an announcement. What IS the deal with this? Just how many staff do XC trains have!? Anyway, it all got much the worse when we arrived at Darlington, as great many people were waiting to board but I think we might have left some behind. I’ve no idea what first was like for standing but it ought to have been declassified! The shouts of “Can you move down please?” were not only far more at home on commuter trains but also impossible to comply with. I got chatting to the leader of a group of tourists who was curious as to why all of the emergency equipment was green. I pointed out that the passcom was red, and maybe the green Emergency Door Release handle was like an Emergency Exit sign? There came an (incredibly quiet! Well at least for the cramped vestibule) announcement that we would not be calling at Chester-le-Street, which had been on the boards at York and Darlington, but I couldn’t work out why it was being omitted as we were hardly two minutes late! I felt very guilty informing a lady across from me of what the announcement had said, she mentioned she was going to Chester-le-Street but had earphones in. Looking back now, it doesn’t appear as though the train which departs York at 09:32 even has a booked call at Chester-le-Street!
Not quite the entrance I had planned, but I finally arrived at Newcastle (Central, if East Coast are to be trusted) and went down to buy a ticket from one of the new Metro machines. The printing does seem to be a tad primitive and it’s interesting that they use different stock to issue receipts, so is that why there are two ticket out slots? I wonder why they didn’t go for the same type of machines (or perhaps, configuration is a better word if it’s the same manufacturer) as Metrolink where the tickets are dropped into a tray. It seems to have prevented them from working in NR ticket gates too, not that that is testable on a Metrolink ticket because there is no magnetic stripe.
I really am quite impressed with this Metro system. Like the DLR, as Light Rail goes, this one has the significant advantage of not being a tram. Combine segregation with a few tunnels so it can penetrate city centres and you’ve basically got it made for a light rail system, it seems. This is not to say there is not one point firmly in the Tramway’s court: I think that Metrolink and Supertam penetrate their respective City Centre’s better even than LU does Central London by virtue of the very quick walk from the street to the platform (again, low-floor trams are clearly the best it gets for this, but they were just too cheap in Manchester I guess). Anyway my point is T&W Metro is no exception, there is still quite a walk, but it’s not nearly as arduous as some LU stations!
The first Metrocar I got on was dedicated ‘Robert Stephenson’ which I thought was nice. It was the first one to arrive, and I had almost no idea what to expect from the journey down to South Hylton. I have heard some ‘interesting’ stories about Nexus’ photography policy, so I tried to keep all of mine surreptitious. Not that they are any good anyway, but I’ll try to include some of the better ones.
The view from the front is really good! The well-practised tactic of sitting at the back so you are at the front when the vehicle reverses served me well in this instance. Having said that I would suspect the drivers would prefer a less cramped cab! It looks barely more than 1/3 the width of the train! Not that I’m complaining! Here’s the excellent view at South Hylton:
I was a bit surprised that the section of shared tracks is so long actually, I knew Sunderland station was but not all the way to nearly Heworth! It seems odd that the Northern trains pass through these Metro stations at such high speeds too…
The journey back towards Newcastle was much busier, it was just after 11 so not that unexpected, but it had been rather quiet after Sunderland on the way down. This really got me thinking about the number of Health and Safety/Warning notices about… there are a lot. Compared to other places, it seems as though there is a barrage of information. There are signs everywhere about Penalty Fares and entrance/exit to the ‘Compulsory Ticket Area’, abuse of staff, not holding the doors open or blocking them, using the right side of escalators, vandalism, trespass ect. I feel a bit like that on London Underground occasionally, and some London TOCs are even worse for it, but the new “Travelling without a ticket is stealing” signs and announcements and the occasional warning about staff having the right to a safe working environment notwithstanding, there really isn’t much on Metrolink. I thought the “Do Not Trespass” choice of words was… interesting, since it doesn’t actually make clear that going beyond the sign is trespassing. It’s clear to most that trespass isn’t allowed, else why call it that?
Anyway, the photo in the platform brings up the next thing which confused me… what is with the platform lengths!? Some seem really long, but almost all seem longer than two Metrocars. I haven’t done much research, but I’d guess all services are run by a pair of them? Do they generally remain coupled to the same pairs or can they be swapped around? The refurbished platform at Haymarket seems so long that it could take 3 cars, and there look like extra sections of platform in the tunnels of some other underground stations, which have been sealed off. Is there a plan to use longer trains in future?
I got off at Monument to see what I could see:
I think that embodies the impressive architecture of this part of the country quite well in one shot. Just look at it… You couldn’t mistake this for anywhere else.
Quite a good station, bit grotty but if it gets the same treatment as Haymarket it’ll be as good a ‘hub’ station for this Metro as can be. Perhaps it could do with a bit more to make its presence visible at street level? Not sure, there is a big yellow ‘M’ there.
I decided to go around the big loop via ‘The Coast’ next. Because this is used as a destination it’s odd that it isn’t the name of a station – but I really do need to get used to the idea that it’s helpful to people, so it should be embraced, even if it is non-standard or inconsistent. It’s highly commendable some of the lengths which are gone to in order to provide information to Metro passengers. The countdown screens are… acceptable in their use of an ‘m’, at least it’s not a capital like it is on Tramlink! They all seemed to be working and providing information about Sunday closures coming up (now that I’ve said that, the one at Monument on the platform bound for The Coast was ONLY showing closures information and other warnings – no departures!). However, Metrolink still have better screens and it kind of irks me that Blackpool and Sheffield don’t seem to believe in live running information… What really make this good are the announcements! I think they have got the platform announcements just right, and the continuity of them and the fact that they seem to be at every station is really pleasing. It is a bit odd that they make automatic announcements for platforms even when only one destination is possible, but very useful indeed where there is more than one. Though the fact that every station has every platform numbered gives this a ‘big railway’ feel of sophistication I think, so even where it’s not always necessary it can be useful and doesn’t hurt. I like it. A lot of National Rail stations I can think of (Northern ones, obviously) don’t have platform numbers! The train I boarded was for ‘The Coast’ according to the screens, but ‘South Shields’ on the front of the train! Indeed, the latter was more correct, but you’d have to be mad to get on it if that were your real destination. I’m glad they have avoided the problems that a ‘pretzel-shaped’ network could easily have caused for people.
As I made my smooth, speedy journey out towards ‘The Coast’ I thought about the on-train PIS too. It hadn’t been working on the train to South Hylton so this was where I really got a feel for it. Overall, I like it. It’s simple and clear, but I think it comes on a bit too often. It says “This is” as you are approaching the station too, which is quite comical! I think Crossover said something about this too me (puts me in mind of a 333 “This train terminates here” – what, in the middle of a field?). I’m struggling to remember the exact format, but the destination could perhaps be listed a bit more often, as you only seem to get it on leaving an origin station? Connections advice is good, and I really DO like the fact that you are given a platform number if your change is onto another Metro train. The punctuation on the screens was a bit poor mind you. Loads of missing full stops and commas! This would be OK if punctuation was not used… but it is. Incorrectly!
The stations out here seem to have received a ‘refresh’ with the black branding like that at Haymarket.
Refurbished Metrocars, refurbished station, that's what it's all about!!
North Shields station was impressive too, though I really do not get why the third platform has had a ramp built over it, which is only open when there’s no lift anyway! Is this often? That platform really could have been useful for turning extra services between Newcastle and North Shields and the track is all still there! I think it was Ainsworth74 who said they could do with a more frequent service through the core and perhaps St James – North Shields would make a good candidate? The platform got rather busy and I was glad they only use double trains. Though having said that, comparing frequencies to anything Northern can offer… it’s fantastic!
I really enjoyed the views of the old station at Tynemouth:
The way the track bends in and out does look funny!
Really good to see this canopy being maintained.
There had been some event on at the time in the station building too! I went back later for those.
I was impressed by the number of ‘local’ and ‘short hop’ journeys that people were making around this loop, it’s good to see plenty of people not just going in and out of one of the City Centres on the route! I hope this means its not ignored in terms of revenue though, I doubt many of these stations are getting gated? My journey continued all the way round to South Gosforth, where I didn’t bother getting off because an Airport train, where I wanted to go next, was just arriving in the opposite platform! D’oh! This interchange needs to be an island! I changed at West Jesmond – which fitted the category of being more substantial than expected, with a bridge and a tunnel! Which didn’t smell of urine!
Very pleased to encounter a refurbished Metrocar pair next too:
This had addressed my only real criticism too that I’d come up with: the floors, seats and other fittings of the unrefurbished trains were starting to get really very dirty and worn. But these are bright, clean and new. Lights have been installed at floor level too – is this because of gaps? I notice M5000s don’t have them, while almost all other new trains do. I don’t remember seeing any on the DLR or other trams though; hence my guess is that they are a requirement if there are gaps.
The PIS seems unchanged (testament to the fact that it was good already) but another major improvement is a more conventional ‘doors open’ tone and a proper doors closing alarm, rather than a random loud buzz and a ‘doors closing’ message, which didn’t always seem to immediately precede the actual closing of train doors.
Having spent quite a while standing around the coast, I was glad of a good seat for the ride back down to Heworth from the Airport – right at the front, and I was the only passenger in that car!
It was there I planned to board a fast Northern service to Sunderland. Heworth is a strange station… it’s had gates installed, though like all the others, they weren’t operational (Have they actually been used yet? Were they just off because it was the weekend?), but it seems the National Rail station just allows you to walk right through to the platform side? There really is a contrast here. The Metro station has screens and announcements, lots of signage and is undercover, has many ticket machines, a ‘Travel Shop’, staff and gates. The Northern station has two benches and two posters. That’s it.
If I were they, I would not want my name associated with this!
It does seem that Nexus' rail area is tiny compared to that of West or South Yorkshire, or even TfGM. It has hardly any NR stations in it, but at least Metro fills much of the void... for commuters anyway - the lack of a return fare is a bit disappointing as £4.40 is good value if you cover the whole network, but not that great just for a return Newcastle to South Shields! Perhaps there are implications with smart ticketing here. Will Northern be accepting it.... eventually?
Anyway, I see now that there are at least platform numbers! I was only 10 minutes in advance of the train but the platform was utterly deserted. Surprisingly, 5-6 people turned up in the last couple of minutes for the train! They must all have it down to a fine art, as this would of course be faster than the next Metro service if travelling to Sunderland and it has a much lower journey time.
A 142 pacer. It’s as though Northern wanted me to be upset with them… actually, I was very amused. The guard was waving goodbye to someone at Heworth, which I thought was interesting (re my comments about waving to the guard like you might say thanks to the bus driver down on the Cardiff Valleys). The guard sold someone a ticket who asked her when boarding at the back of the train then walked off to the front carriage, ignoring me and not asking to see my T&W Metro ticket (which a member of staff in the Metro station did say was valid on the Northern service… I think!). I think she was resuming her check out of Newcastle, and was spending quite a while talking and laughing with some people! They must have been regulars, and my theory that she is a real ‘community guard’ was confirmed, I think, when we arrived at Sunderland because she withdrew a box of eggs with a handmade label from the cab, and passed them to one of the platform staff! He thanked her kindly and paid her! The mind boggles at the localism… But what a nice thought? Message in there for all those DOO supporters (I think all of my trip reports have contained one of those actually lol. Go guards!).
Anyway I had a little look around Sunderland.
Love the fact that they’ve used logos in the TOC column of the departure board! Though I wonder how many members of the public know what ‘TOC’ stands for? It’s good to see the Metro seamlessly integrating with the PIS just as it does on the tracks.
Now then! Let’s make sure nobody mistakes this Grand Central 180 for the Metro to the Airport! Haha! The boards for platform 3 actually did have ‘Airport’ on them too while the train was in the platform because it’s so long. Glad nobody fell for it…
It looks like its own fully fledged City Centre! And funny that it’s an underground National Rail station, given how much that would cost to build nowadays, it’s quite an asset! I’ve heard bad things about the condition of this station but it’s OK now.
The artwork on one wall and this inspired light show on the other one really do brighten it up. All the blue puts me in mind of St Pancras LL a bit. I really thought that they were real people walking past too at first! Haha!
I made my journey back up to Pelaw to get the last branch done: South Shields.
Looks kind of cute like that, doesn’t it?
It wasn’t as interesting as the others and it certainly did seem busier! The stations looked more rundown and there were plenty of single track sections to accommodate a Network Rail line too.
Another ‘High Street’ there … hmm.
I didn’t go exploring here, but did note the barriers at South Shields. I really am sort of glad these are going ahead… because it is OK if it helps to protect revenue and the stations are completely enclosed in many cases. Nevertheless, I can’t help but think that barriering it kind of defeats the object of light rail… though staffing them ought not to be a problem and they must have to staff the underground stations anyway. I wish Nexus all the best with their ‘Pop’ card too. It’s at a much more advanced stage than TfGM have managed to get theirs to. I’ve honestly forgotten what they have named our Smartcard as I type the name is so awful. I’m not joking I know its three short-ish words but I just can’t remember them. They have got their ticketing and some zones sorted too – unlike Metrolink. The readers on gates, ticket machines and platforms are all seemingly in place, even if they aren’t being used yet, so it’s clear they are advancing well. I can’t express how annoying it is that it’s taken this many years to get these projects off the ground outside London – and Manchester are lagging! Ticket checking was going OK too, I had it once on the Airport branch and once leaving Monument, and there appeared to be blocks on at Gateshead Stadium and somewhere else too.
As I didn’t have long left, I thought I’d better get the last bit of track down into St James done, after a very brief look around Gateshead station:
Not in an amazing state at the mo due to refurbishment, it seems.
I like this font Nexus have chosen. Iconic in its own way
Not like the TfL one, but still.Gateshead seemed to have yet another town centre… how many of these are there in such a small radius? Or is it just that they are actually considered miles away and the Metro covers the distances incredibly quickly? How often would someone who lives in a suburb of Sunderland visit Newcastle City Centre and vice versa?
St James was covered in football stuff, which is because, as I’m told (I really don’t know much about football) Newcastle has a rare stadium attribute in that it is very close to the City Centre. What amused me was the long way up from the platforms to the concourse area, which was all hollowed out giving the station a very ‘cavernous’ feel. Some people were waiting for a train on the other platform… and had to run all the way up and then all the way back down again to catch the one that I came in on! Surely there is some system in place to tell people which platform to go to? That’s something of a flaw if not!
Nice touch… Football pitch in the tiles.
My final stop for the day would be Wallsend, I decided, to catch something I thought I’d seen there earlier… and YES! I had been right! Latin signs! Wow!
Now that is cultured! I should have guessed the name of the station had something to do with Hadrian’s Wall. The next stop “Hadrian Road” gives a further clue. There are now posters in situ explaining this. I hadn’t realised just how far North I was coming! Previously the furthest north I had ever been was Carlisle, I mean that in the Railway sense, the City sense and the literal and physical sense. I remember the point where I stood near the North end of the platform that was ‘The furthest North I’ve ever been’… which it looks like is no longer true! I brief glance at Google maps suggests Monkseaton to be the Northernmost T&W Metro station? In which case I need to update my factoid.
That was all I had time for anyway and I wanted to be back in good time at the station to get some TPE claim forms and an Evening Return from Mauldeth Road where I was going back to (the East Coast ticket clerk did not quite believe that it only cost 90p!). This was a nice touch:
So they think it is “Newcastle Central” too. Well… those boards thought it was “Gateshead MetroCtr” too, which I have never seen Northern using before. Dore & Totley anyone?
Even at 18:00 on a Saturday, things were… rowdy at the station. I went outside to admire the architecture and was approached by screaming drunkards and had to dodge around a few people. But look at this for an over-engineered drop off point!
It’s a shame the road outside is all being dug up.
There were loads of BTP everywhere and three “Rail Response” (whatever that is) guys doing some sort of raid on the toilets…
I was happy to watch some 225s go and was stood on the platform opposite my waiting 185 home when a HST arrived. The staff weren’t around where I was standing, so I thought I’d help them out as it was running late by closing some of the doors. I got the feeling that my efforts weren’t appreciated though – because I forgot to close the windows! I’m a bit of a stranger to HSTs… does the guard not usually close some doors as well? And what about… you know… some of the passengers? Do they never close them? Are we not supposed to close them, in case they are left ajar and they can’t be locked?
My waiting 185.
I wish I could say the journey home was uneventful, but a Saturday night through Newcastle, York and then Leeds and on to Manchester was anything but. There was no ticket check until York either, which I though was poor since we stopped at Chester-le-Street which must have had people needing to buy tickets? When he did check, the guard seemed to have enlisted back up, because between York and Leeds there were two guards.
I don’t know how some of the people who got on at Leeds got past the barriers, they were just too drunk. It was nearing 21:00 by this time, but some guy was so drunk he’d been to the toilet and not managed to ‘cover himself up’ properly. Should have been arrested, frankly, or at least refused travel. Then there was the woman at Dewsbury who was dressed up as God knows what, who tried I think to dispatch the train, but not using a standard white dispatch bat… She waved said pink pointy object in the guards face just as he was closing the doors, hahaha! He was NOT a happy bunny. Honestly, I don’t know how some staff on this route cope. Scratch that I’m not sure how I will cope given that I might actually be moving to Leeds soon : (
I did manage to catch this one 'beautiful moment' with the sun in the foreground on the yellow rapeseed plants, contrasting with dark clouds in the distance
Anyway, at least we were on time getting back into Manchester Pic, even if that does take hours. On the whole, a very enjoyable day out
Thank you Geordies! Though not quite the same as my trip to Cardiff – I loved that so much I want to go back there again. I’m glad I went and I’ve seen it, plus the Metro really is fantastic, but I don’t think I will say that I could live in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Thanks for reading!
PS Apologies for any spelling errors, note time of posting.
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