North Shields is a
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
station, serving the coastal town of
North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
,
North Tyneside
North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.
North Tyneside is bordered b ...
in
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...
, England. It joined the network on 14 November 1982, following the opening of the fourth phase of the network, between
Tynemouth
Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...
and
St James via
Wallsend
Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
History Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...
.
History
The station, which was named ''Shields'' until 1874, was opened on 22 June 1839 by the
Newcastle and North Shields Railway
The Newcastle & North Shields Railway opened in June 1839 from a temporary terminus in Carliol Square in Newcastle upon Tyne to North Shields. The railway was absorbed by the Newcastle & Berwick Railway in November 1844. The Newcastle & Berwick ...
. Although originally a terminus station, the line was extended to
Tynemouth
Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...
in 1847, by the digging of a tunnel under
North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
.
The original station were replaced by the
North Eastern Railway in 1890, by new booking offices constructed over the platforms. These survived until the mid-1960s, when they were replaced with a prefabricated structure by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
. During this time, the station roof was replaced with individual canopies over each platform.
Following closure for conversion in the early 1980s, the platform-level canopies and ramps from the entrance to the platform were retained, with the 1960s station entrance being replaced by a new structure.
Regeneration
By the end of the 2000s, the station structure was again becoming dated.
Nexus
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and Border control#Expedited border controls, expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members ...
drew up plans to replace it with facilities which would provide "a visually striking new gateway to the town centre". The new station was fully completed in September 2012, with changes including passenger lifts, wave-shaped canopies for each platform, and a new black, white and blue colour scheme. The ramps that had formerly provided access to the platforms were replaced with stairs.
Prior to refurbishment, the station had three platforms – consisting of two
through platforms, and a
bay platform
In the United Kingdom and in Australia, a bay platform is a dead-end railway platform at a railway station that has through lines. It is normal for bay platforms to be shorter than their associated through platforms.
Overview
Bay and islan ...
at the south west of the station. The former bay platform, located at the south-west of the station, was used by terminating services from
St James. Following the network's extension to
Wearside
Wearside () is a built-up area in both Tyne and Wear and County Durham, Northern England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunder ...
in March 2002, these services were withdrawn.
Facilities
Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with two lifts and ramps providing step-free access to platforms at North Shields. The station is equipped with ticket machines, sheltered waiting area, 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
Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC, e.g. Samsun ...
), notes and coins.
The station is fitted with automatic ticket barriers, which were installed following the station's refurbishment in 2012, as well as smartcard validators, which feature at all stations.
The station also housed a
Nexus
NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and Border control#Expedited border controls, expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members ...
TravelShop, which was located to the right of the station entrance.This has now closed.
[https://www.nexus.org.uk/travelshops]
There is no dedicated car parking available at the station. A taxi rank is located off Nile Street. There is the provision for cycle parking, with five cycle pods available for use.
Services
, the station is served by up to five trains per hour on weekdays and Saturday, and up to four trains per hour during the evening and on Sunday.
Rolling stock used:
Class 599 ''Metrocar''
References
External links
*
Timetable and station informationfor North Shields
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Shields Metro station
North Shields
Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside
1839 establishments in England
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1839
1982 establishments in England
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1982
Tyne and Wear Metro Yellow line stations
Transport in Tyne and Wear
Former North Eastern Railway (UK) stations
William Bell railway stations
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