Four Lane Ends Interchange

Four Lane Ends Interchange
Four Lane Ends Interchange
Location	Benton Lane; Longbenton; North Tyneside
Coordinates	55.0100°N 1.5785°W
Owned by	Tyne and Wear PTE (Nexus)
Operated by	Tyne and Wear PTE (Nexus)
Bus stands	7
Connections	Four Lane Ends
Construction
Parking	475 spaces
Bicycle facilities	5 cycle lockers; 5 cycle pods; 18 cycle spaces
Other information
Fare zone	Network One: 2; Transfare: Green;
Website	www.nexus.org.uk/bus/bus-stations-and-stops/four-lane-ends-bus-station
History
Opened	11 August 1980
Location
	Four Lane Ends Interchange Location within Tyne and Wear

Four Lane Ends
	Tyne and Wear Metro
Location
Place	Longbenton
Local authority	North Tyneside
Coordinates	55.0100°N 1.5785°W
Fare zone information
Metro zone	B
Network One	2
Original zone	17
Station code	FLE
Operations
Platforms	2
Escalators	2 (both up)
Usage
Metro Usage	0.46[1] million
History
Opened	11 August 1980
	List of stations

Four Lane Ends is a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, serving Benton and Longbenton in North Tyneside. The station joined the network in August 1980, following the opening of the line between Haymarket and Tynemouth – the first stage of the network to open.

The station is located at the junction of Benton Lane (A188), Benton Park Road (A191) and Front Street (A191). The crossroads has historically been important for traders, cattle drivers, and those transporting local salts and lime towards the shipyards and factories in Newcastle. Nearby employment sites include Benton Park View to the west, Tyneview Park to the south east, and Quorum Business Park to the north.

Unlike neighbouring Longbenton and Benton, Four Lane Ends was purpose-built for the Tyne and Wear Metro network. These purpose-built stations, such as Four Lane Ends, Heworth and Regent Centre, had a definite corporate look of rectangular blocks, light enamelled wall panels, and black roofing.

The station is situated at the site of the first Longbenton station, which opened in 1864 and closed at the start of 1871 – being replaced by Benton. The last remains of this station disappeared following the construction of Four Lane Ends in the late 1970s.

Four Lane Ends houses two art installations, both of which were commissioned in the early 2000s. Andrew Stonyer's Pulse (2000) features in the station's courtyard, adjacent to the ticket concourse, and consists of a 6 m (20 ft) diameter corten steel ring, with a circle of bright neon red.[2] Cath Campbell's Detour (2003) features on the south and west elevations of the station's multi-storey car park, creating an "animated" and "dynamic" surface, describing movement and journeys through space.[3]

The station was used by 455,198 passengers 2017–18, making it the twentieth-most-used station on the network.

Facilities

Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with two lifts providing step-free access to platforms at Four Lane Ends. As part of the Metro: All Change programme, new lifts were installed at Four Lane Ends in 2012,[4] with new escalators installed in 2015.[5] The station is equipped with ticket machines, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point on both platforms. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment), notes and coins.[6][7] The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.[8][9] The station houses a small number of shops and services. A Nexus TravelShop also operated at the station until 2014.[10]

A large multi-storey pay and display car park is available, with 457 spaces plus 22 accessible spaces, as well as a taxi rank. There is also the provision for cycle parking, with 5 cycle pods, 5 cycle lockers, and 18 cycle spaces available for use. A bus interchange is also available at the station, providing frequent connections in and around Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside.[11]

Service and frequency

Four Lane Ends is served by the Yellow Line , which operates between South Shields and St. James with an end-to-end journey time of 83 minutes.

Services from platform 1 operate towards South Shields, with the first train departing at 05:19 (05:27 on Saturday and 06:49 on Sunday). Services from platform 2 operate towards St. James via Whitley Bay, with the first train departing at 05:09 (05:28 on Saturday and 06:13 on Sunday). Trains run frequently across the network, at intervals of up to every 12 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime), and every 15 minutes (evening and Sunday), with the last trains departing at around midnight.

Additional trains run during morning and evening peak hours (Monday to Friday) between Pelaw and Monkseaton. This provides up to 10 trains per hour through the station at peak times.[11]

Journey times from Four Lane Ends are:

4 minutes to South Gosforth
12 minutes to Monument via South Gosforth
14 minutes to Whitley Bay
23 minutes to Pelaw via South Gosforth
30 minutes to Wallsend via Whitley Bay
40 minutes to South Shields via South Gosforth
42 minutes to St. James via Whitley Bay