Metro timetable switch to benefit thousands of passengers, say Nexus. 30/11/05

Thousands of commuters will benefit from a major overhaul of the Metro timetable, say operators Nexus.

The timetable is changing from December 11 and it means extra trains will operate during busy peak periods.

The key benefits are:

Between Mondays and Fridays extra services will be run from Pelaw in Gateshead to either Regent Centre or Monkseaton.

· There will be a train every three minutes between South Gosforth and Pelaw in the morning and afternoon peaks.

· And throughout the day and on Saturdays both lines will operate a minimum 12 minute service, but unlike currently, trains will depart at the same time every hour.

· There will be a more even service between the centres of Newcastle and Sunderland.

As a result of the changes trains from South Hylton and Park Lane in Sunderland will run directly to Newcastle Airport instead of Tynemouth and trains from South Shields will run to St James.

Director General of Nexus, Mike Parker, said: “The timetable changes mean we are able to run more trains and more regular services in areas where there is high demand.

“It’s our job to meet that demand and by making these changes passengers will feel the benefits of a more efficient service, in turn this will encourage more people with cars to leave them at home, jump on a Metro and beat the traffic jams.”

The new Metro station on North Tyneside, Northumberland Park, is opening on December 11 as well and the timetable changes have been brought in to meet the extra demand this is expected to create.

Metro services on Sundays will be unaltered once the change comes into effect.

The familiar Metro system map has been updated to highlight the changes.

This means that the green line will go from Airport to South Hylton (instead of South Shields) and the yellow line will go from St James to South Shields (instead of South Hylton).

Information about the new timetables are available by calling Traveline on 0870 608 2 608.

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