Northumberland Park Metro station

Northumberland Park is a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, serving Backworth, Northumberland Park and West Allotment in North Tyneside. The station joined the network in December 2005, and is currently the second-newest station on the network, after Simonside, which opened in March 2008.[2]

Not to be confused with Northumberland Park railway station in North London.

Northumberland Park
Tyne and Wear Metro
Location
PlaceNorthumberland Park
Local authorityNorth Tyneside
Coordinates55.0331°N 1.5198°W / 55.0331; -1.5198
Fare zone information
Metro zoneB
Network One2
Original zone18
Station codeNPK
Operations
Platforms2
Usage
Metro Usage0.31[1] million
History
Opened 11 December 2005
List of stations

The station is located to the west of the site of the former Backworth station, which closed to passengers in June 1977.[3] The station was indirectly replaced by the nearby Shiremoor, which was purpose-built for the network, and opened in August 1980.

Northumberland Park is located a short walk away from the nearby Cobalt Business Park, which can be also reached using Go North East's 19 bus. This route also serves Silverlink Retail Park, Royal Quays and the Shields Ferry.[4]

The station was used by 311,714 passengers in 2017–18, making it the fifth-least-used station in North Tyneside.

Facilities

Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with a lift providing step-free access to the island platform at Northumberland Park. The station is equipped with ticket machines, sheltered waiting area, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment), notes and coins.[5][6] The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.[7][8]

The station serves as a park and ride, and is served by a multi-storey car park with 393 spaces, plus 12 accessible spaces. There is also the provision for cycle parking, with 5 cycle lockers and 5 cycle pods available for use. A small bus interchange is also available at the station, providing frequent connections in and around North Tyneside and south east Northumberland.[9]

Service and frequency

Northumberland Park 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 05:49 (05:51 on Saturday and 06:43 on Sunday). Services from platform 2 operate towards St. James via Whitley Bay, with the first train departing at 05:15 (05:34 on Saturday and 06:19 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.[9]

Journey times from Northumberland Park are:

Future developments
For further information regarding the ongoing rail project to connect Newcastle and Ashington, see Northumberland Line.

As of May 2020, proposals exist for the reinstatement of a passenger service between Newcastle and Ashington, as part of the Northumberland Line project.[10][11] The service would utilise the single-track line, which is currently used by freight services to and from North Blyth and Lynemouth. It is expected that additional platforms would be constructed at Northumberland Park, in order to accommodate the new rail service.[12] Later phases would see additional stations added, as well as line-speed and capacity improvements elsewhere on the line.[13]

The North East Joint Transport Committee's bid for £377 million of funding from the UK Government's £1.28 billion Transforming Cities Fund, submitted on 20 June 2019, includes £99 million to fund the reintroduction of passenger services between Newcastle and Ashington,[14] while further work is ongoing to secure additional public and private investment for the project.[15] As of February 2020, Northumberland County Council has agreed a further £10 million in funding to progress the proposals, with the possibility of construction beginning as early as June 2022, for a September 2023 opening.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Tyne and Wear Metro usage figures 2017–2018". Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. "'Travel free' offer as £3.2m station opens". Railnews. 16 April 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. "Disused Stations: Backworth Station (2nd site)". Disused Stations. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. "Little Coasters 19". Go North East. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. "Metro passengers feel the benefit of contactless payment". Nexus. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. "Revamp for Metro ticket machines". BBC News. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. "City Metro stations get new smart ticket machines and gates". Nexus. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. "Pop card validators at Metro stations are put through their paces". Nexus. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. "Timetables and stations: Northumberland Park". Nexus. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  10. "Northumberland Line". Northumberland County Council. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  11. "Northumberland Line reopening plan advances". Railway Gazette International. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. "Plans to hook up Northumberland to Metro station via new passenger rail link". Berwick Advertiser. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  13. O'Connell, Ben (15 July 2019). "Six new stations could open if Ashington to Newcastle passenger trains resume". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  14. Holland, Daniel (19 June 2019). "North East's £377m transport funding bid confirmed - but leaders say there is more to come - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  15. "Northumberland Line could reopen for passengers in 2022". Rail Engineer. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  16. "£162m Northumberland Line scheme moves to design phase". The Construction Index. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.

Sources
Preceding station   Tyne and Wear Metro   Following station
towards St James
Yellow line
towards South Shields
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