Howdon 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 suburb of Howdon,

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 ...

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, Newc ...

, England. It joined the network on 14 November 1982, following the opening of the fourth phase of the network, between Tynemouth 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 f ...

History

The station 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 ...

. This later became part of the North Tyneside Loop, served by the North Eastern Railway. On 1 December 1875, the station was renamed ''Howdon-on-Tyne'', to prevent it being confused with a station of a similar name station in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

. Following closure for conversion in the early 1980s, the station was demolished and almost entirely re-built. Only the eastbound platform (trains towards

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

), clearly identifiable by its stone construction, remained from the original station. The westbound platform was re-built and sited on the opposite side of the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

on Howdon Lane, creating a staggered platform arrangement. A pedestrian subway was built to allow passengers to cross the line, however, it does not have ramps for improved

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

pushchair Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English), infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpack ...

access. The North Eastern Railway footbridge was removed, and is now located at Goathland on the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Geor ...

. The station was refurbished in 2011, along with nearby Meadow Well. The refurbishment project involved the installation of white vitreous enamel panels, new seating and lighting, and improved security and accessibility, as well as resurfaced platforms. The station was also painted in the new black and white corporate colour scheme.

Facilities

Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with ramps providing step-free access to both platforms at Howdon. The station is equipped with ticket machines, waiting shelter, 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. Samsung ...

), notes and coins. The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network. There is no dedicated car parking available at the station. 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

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Timetable and station information
for Howdon {{DEFAULTSORT:Howdon Metro station 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 __NOTOC__