The Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system is 40 years old today.
The The Tyne & Wear Metro system opened on this day in 1980. The network was opened in stages between 1980 and 1984 with the trains running on a mixture of old railway routes and new track to bespoke stations.
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| A Tyne & Wear Metro train crossing the Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne |
The first route to open was Haymarket to Tynemouth.
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| A Tyne & Wear Metro service heading into Newcastle from Byker |
Street art on the Tyne & Wear Metro
We were in Newcastle and Gateshead for the World Transplant Games last year and while in the area went Space Invader hunting. Three of the mosaic tile pieces by the French street artist Invader can be found at Gateshead Interchange Tyne & Wear Metro station. |
| Space Invader NCL_21 downstairs in Gateshead Interchange metro station |
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| A closer look at Invader NCL_21 |
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| NCL_19 is above ground at Gateshead Interchange |
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| Invader NCL_20 is deep underground at Gateshead Interchange |
