Metro, Newcastle upon Tyne

The Metro system is a regular underground/overground inner city rail service which now connects Newcastle to the North East coast at Whitley Bay, Cullercoats and Tynemouth, it goes as far as Newcastle Airport to the North West of the city, follows the river Tyne on both sides along to the coast and now connects to Sunderland too. It even stops at my door - just how handy is that?

Prices aren't as cheap as they were but it's a fast and convenient service that usually runs on time. It's easy to use, no where near as complicated as London's Tube and not as crowded either, and it will get you to most places you might want to go.

You can buy a transfare, day rover and explorer tickets which allow you to switch between the Metro, Bus, Trains and ferries and these can get you almost 150 miles away for only £6.

To get the Metro just look for the big 'M' signes

Buying Metro tickets can be tricky. Take coins with you, as notes and cards are not accepted in the machines, and only a few stations have change machines.

Secondly, the ticket machines are nearly 30 years old (even though they've been refurbished to look newer), and they are finnicky about accepting even slightly dirty coins. The best way, I've found, is to rub both sides of the coin on a handkerchief before inserting it.

The machines sell single/return tickets, and two types of day ticket - the DaySaver and Day Rover - allowing unlimited travel within a 1 day period. The DaySaver is valid on all Metro services, the Shields ferry, the yellow Quaylink buses, and train services between Sunderland and Newcastle. The Day Rover is more expensive, but it also gives validity on all buses within Tyne and Wear, and train services to and from the MetroCentre.

A special type of single ticket - called a Transfare - is available if you want to take a Metro to a particular station, followed by a bus to your final destination. This is cheaper than buying two separate tickets. (Transfares are also available from bus drivers, if you're doing it the other way round.)

For longer periods of unlimited travel, weekly, monthly, and annual tickets are available, but they must be purchased from a Travelshop (inside larger Metro stations), and a passport-sized photo must be provided. There are two types: MetroSaver (same validity as DaySaver above) and Network Travelticket (same validity as Day Rover).

Some honesty is expected when travelling, as the Metro is an "open" system. A few stations have ticket barriers, but these haven't actually worked since the 1980s! Just push the turnstile and you'll go straight through.

Regular ticket checks are conducted on trains, so if you think you can get away with not paying, beware. A fine of £20 is charged if you don't have a ticket, and the Metro regularly names and shames fare dodgers on its monthly "loser list".

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The easiest way for a visitor (or anyone else) to get around Newcastle and the Tyneside area is to take the Metro. The system is easy to use, clean, reliable and generally efficient. There are just two lines – the green one runs between the Airport to the north west of the city and South Hylton on Wearside, while the yellow runs in a “loop with a tail” to connect the coast with the city centre.

You need to buy your ticket in advance from the machines in the station. These don’t take bank notes or credit cards so you’ll need to make sure you have enough change for your journey. The stations are arranged in three zones and you pay according to how many zones you’ll be travelling through. As a guide, the cost in December 2006 was £2.50 for a 2-zone day return.

The main stations in the city centre are
Haymarket – for the Civic Centre, some good pubs (including our favourite, the Crows Nest) and the top end of Northumberland Street (start of the shopping district)
Monument – for the shops of Eldon Square and many others, the Theatre Royal and shuttle buses to the Quayside and Metro centre
Central Station – as the name suggests, for the central station and mainline connections, also a fairly easy walk to the Quayside
St James – for the football stadium and also Chinatown

For a bit of extra fun, especially if travelling with small children, try to get the seat at the front of the train – you’ll get a great view ahead down the tracks and the kids can pretend to drive the train!

The only downsides to the Metro that I can see is that it doesn’t run on Bank Holidays and also that it stops running rather early at night – the last train from the city centre is before midnight even on a Saturday, and this is in the so-called “party capital” of Europe!

Quickest way around town is by metro as traffic in city has one-way systems causing
congestion. Metro is underground system similar to `tube` and links you to all bus, train,and air terminals. There are plenty of buses in town and taxi ranks too.
Airport is about 10 miles/ 15mins drive away from city centre.
Trains (Central Station) are in city centre.

The Metro is by far the best form of transportation, however, the nexus travel group offer a transfair which is a combination ticket allowing travel on 2 forms of transport. BUS or METRO. FERRY or METRO etc.

Also recommended is the day saver which is best purchased after 9am if possible.

Often reliabable and easy to understand the metro will serve you well.

The Metro was Britain's first rapid light transit system.

The City centre of Newcastle is quite compact, but if you are travelling to the airport, the coast or Sunderland then you will find it to be enourmously useful.

Whilst it retains a distinct feel of 1976 about it, with bold plasticy design features everywhere, it still somehow manages to be efficient, well run, and cheap.

It would be true to say that many locals (I'm trying not to cast any aspertions here) don't bother to pay the fare, but this would not be wise as a tourist. At over three quid for a day ticket, it represents good value for money.

For the trainspotters amongst us : Monument station is the only subway station in the world where the same train enters from two diffrent directions (because it does a loop out to the coast and back)

Metro's are very frequent in Newcastle and will cost less than £5 for a day ticket ...so you can jump on and jump off til your hearts content..

For visitors this is the best way to travel around Newcastle ....visiting Gateshead, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay also...

The Tyne and Wear Metro, is a quick, regular, and reliable method of light rail transport around both north and south Tyneside, with a spur running to Newcastle International Airport.

The system runs underground through central Newcastle and Gateshead, and above ground everywhere else. It connects with main line rail services at Central Station, and with local bus services and taxi ranks at several points. Many Metro stations have car parks nearby.