Rare colour film of Metro in 1981

October 2025

Rare colour footage of the Tyne and Wear Metro’s first year of operations has been unearthed on eBay.

The six-minute video provides a snapshot of Metro in July of 1981, when the system was less than a year old and was still brand new.

Metro was first opened to the public in August 1980 before more sections were completed through to 1984. It was further extended to Newcastle Airport in 1991 and to Sunderland in 2002.

The film, which was shot using an 8mm cine camera, captures a journey on the first ever section of Metro line between Haymarket and Tynemouth.

It was discovered by local public transport enthusiast Ian Chapman, who spotted it for sale on eBay and he decided to buy it straight away.

Metro operator Nexus has added the footage to its YouTube channel so that it is now digitised and preserved for posterity.

The grainy reel shows the view from the front seat of a Metro train, and the opening title screen says that it was filmed on Wednesday 29 July 1981. This was the same day as the Royal wedding when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, which was a bank holiday.