Tyne & Wear Metro Ride - Gateshead Stadium to Heworth | 15/04/24 | U.K.

Riding the metro from Gateshead Stadium to Heworth. 15/04/24.

Gateshead Stadium is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving Gateshead International Stadium and the town of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It joined the network on 15 November 1981, following the opening of the third phase of the network, between Haymarket and Heworth.

History
The station was purpose-built for the network, and is named after the nearby Gateshead International Stadium. During the planning phase, the station was intended to be named Old Fold, after a neighbouring residential area.

Facilities
The station has two platforms, both of which have seating, next train audio and visual displays, timetable and information posters and an emergency help point. Additional facilities are available on the concourse, as well as ticket machines (which accept cash, card and contactless payment) and smartcard validators. There is step-free access to the island platform by ramp, with platforms also accessed by staircase. There is cycle storage at the station, with two cycle pods.

Refurbishment
In 2015, the station was refurbished, along with nearby Felling. Improvements include the installation of new seating and lighting, dual handrails, tactile paving, anti-slip surfacing on stairs and platform nosing and colour variation of floor. The station was also rebranded in the new black and white corporate colour scheme.

Services
As of April 2024, the station is served by up to ten trains per hour on weekdays and Saturday, and up to eight trains per hour during the evening and on Sunday between Pelaw and South Gosforth. Up to five trains per hour (four trains per hour on Sunday) extend to either South Hylton or South Shields and Airport or St James via Whitley Bay.


Heworth Interchange consists of a National Rail, Tyne and Wear Metro and bus station. It is located in the suburb of Heworth, Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England, and opened on 5 November 1979 for rail and bus services. The station joined the Tyne and Wear Metro network around two years later, on 15 November 1981.

Tyne and Wear Metro
Heworth is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the suburbs of Felling and Heworth, Gateshead in Tyne and Wear. It joined the network on 15 November 1981, following the opening of the third phase of the network, between Haymarket and Heworth.

History
The Tyne and Wear Metro station opened over two years later than the adjacent rail station, serving as a replacement for former rail stations at Felling and Pelaw, which were closed by British Rail on 5 November 1979, ahead of conversion work to join the Tyne and Wear Metro network.

Opening initially as a terminus station, trains reversed in the platforms, using the crossovers to the west of the station in passenger service. Reversals later took place at the new sidings at Pelaw, once they had been completed.

On 24 March 1984, the network was further extended south to South Shields, with the station opening to through services. In the following year, on 15 September 1985, Pelaw reopened as an intermediate station – almost six years after its closure by British Rail.

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 Heworth. As part of the Metro: All Change programme, new lifts were installed at Heworth in 2012, with new escalators installed in 2015.

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, notes and coins.

The station is fitted with automatic ticket barriers, which were installed at 13 stations across the network during the early 2010s, as well as smartcard validators, which feature at all stations.

The houses a coffee kiosk and newsagent's shop in the ticket hall. Additionally, there is the provision for car parking (operated by Gateshead Council), as well as cycle parking at the station, with four cycle lockers, and 25 cycle racks available.

Services
As of April 2021, the station is served by up to ten trains per hour on weekdays and Saturday, and up to eight trains per hour during the evening and on Sunday. Additional services operate between Pelaw and Benton, Monkseaton, Regent Centre or South Gosforth at peak times.

Rolling stock used: Class 599 Metrocar

Bus
Heworth Bus Station opened in November 1979, along with the British Rail station. It is located above the four platforms, and bordered by Sunderland Road and the A184. It is served by Go North East's local bus services, with frequent routes serving Gateshead, as well as Newcastle, South Tyneside and Washington.

The bus station has seven departure stands (lettered A–F and X), each of which is fitted with a waiting shelter, seating, next bus information displays, and timetable posters. It was refurbished in November 2012, at a cost of £200,000.