Gateshead Interchange
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | West Street, Gateshead, NE8 Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead England | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54°57′43″N 1°36′17″W / 54.9619°N 1.6048°W | |||||||||||||||
| OS Grid ref | NZ 254 631 | |||||||||||||||
| System | Tyne and Wear Metro | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Nexus | |||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Nexus | |||||||||||||||
| Lines |
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| Platforms | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Bus stands | 14 (A–N + Z) | |||||||||||||||
| Bus operators | ||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Underground | |||||||||||||||
| Cycle facilities |
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| Accessible | Step-free access throughout, with lifts from street-level to platforms and level-boarding to Class 555 trains | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Status | Staffed intermittently[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Station code | GHD | |||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | A | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Original company | Tyne and Wear Metro | |||||||||||||||
| Key dates | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 November 1981 | Opened | |||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020/21 | 638,883 (Metro) | |||||||||||||||
| 2021/22 | 2.322 million (Metro) | |||||||||||||||
| 2022/23 | 2.900 million (Metro) | |||||||||||||||
| 2023/24 | 2.824 million (Metro) | |||||||||||||||
| 2024/25 | 3.202 million (Metro) | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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Gateshead Interchange is a multimodal transport hub, serving the town of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It opened on 15 November 1981, as part of the third phase of the network, between Haymarket and Heworth Interchange.
History
The station replaced the former British Rail station, which closed in November 1981, with the Interchange situated around 400 m (440 yd) to the south west of the former station.[3]
The design of the station is very different from the underground stations in central Newcastle, due to the different rock structure south of the River Tyne. The running tunnels are square, rather than circular in cross-section, with the station excavated as a box.
The Metro station was used by 3.202 million passengers in 2024/25,[2] lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 3.554 million in 2018/19.[2]
Facilities
Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with lifts providing step-free access from street-level to platforms at Gateshead. The station is equipped with ticket machines, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point on both platforms. The ticket machines accept credit and debit cards (including contactless payment), notes and coins.[4][5] The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.[6][7]
There is no dedicated car parking available at the station, however there are a number of pay and display car parks operated by Gateshead Council located nearby. A taxi rank is located on Walker Terrace. There is the provision for cycle parking, five cycle racks and five cycle pods available for use. A large bus interchange is located on the upper level, providing frequent connections across the region.[1]
Metro services
As of June 2026, the station is served by up to ten trains per hour – five trains in each direction on both of the Yellow and Green lines – on weekdays and Saturdays, and up to eight trains per hour during the evening and on Sundays. In the northbound direction, half the trains run to Newcastle Airport and half to St James via Whitley Bay. In the southbound direction, half the trains run to South Shields and half to South Hylton via Sunderland.[1]
Bus services
The bus station is located above the Tyne and Wear Metro station. It also opened on 15 November 1981, and was initially operated by Northern General – despite being designed in the house style of the Tyne and Wear PTE.
The original bus station was demolished and rebuilt in the early 2000s, to a design by Jefferson Sheard Architects. It was officially re-opened on 29 March 2004, by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling.[8] The building houses a number of shops and services.
It is served by Arriva North East and Go North East's local bus services, with frequent routes serving Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as County Durham, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Teesside. The bus station has 13 departure stands (lettered A–N), with an additional stand (Z) used by long-distance coach services. Each stand is fitted with seating, next bus information displays, and timetable posters.
As of June 2026, the stand allocation is:[9]
| Stand | Route | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| A | 53 | Saltwell Park Circular via Coatsworth Road, Saltwell Park & Bensham Road |
| B | 91A[a] | Team Valley South End via Team Valley North End |
| 94 | Team Valley Circular via Bensham Road, Team Valley, Low Fell, Queen Elizabeth Hospital & Heworth | |
| 96 | MetroCentre Interchange via Lobley Hill & Dunston | |
| 301 | MetroCentre Interchange via Lobley Hill, Wickham & Swalwell | |
| X32 | Stanley [b] via Lobley Hill, Sunniside & East Stanley | |
| X70 | Consett via Lobley Hill, Sunniside & Dipton | |
| X71A | Consett via Sunniside, Burnopfield & Medolmsley | |
| X72 | Stanley via Lobley Hill, Burnopfield & Dipton | |
| C | 93 | Team Valley Circular[c] via Gateshead College, Gateshead Stadium, Heworth , Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Low Fell & Team Valley |
| 54 | Newcastle Market Street via Baltic Square & Quayside | |
| D | Metro replacement bus via Gateshead Stadium
| |
| E | 28 | Chester-le-Street via Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Wrekenton, Birtley, High Handenhold & Beamish Museum |
| 28B | Chester-le-Street via Low Fell, Kibblesworth, Birtley, Newfield & Beamish Museum | |
| 29 | Chester-le-Street via Low Fell, Kibblesworth, Birtley, High Handenhold & Beamish Museum | |
| 301 | Whitley Bay via Newcastle City Centre , Byker , Wallsend Interchange & North Shields Interchange | |
| 301A[d] | Newcastle Market Street | |
| TB29 | Racecourse Estate via Bensham | |
| F | 49 | Winlaton via Dunston, Metrocentre Interchange , Swalwell & Blaydon |
| 49A | Winlaton via Dunston, Metrocentre Interchange , Swalwell & Parkhead Estate | |
| G | X66 | MetroCentre Interchange express |
| H | X10 | Middlesbrough express via Heworth , Dalton Park, Peterlee , Billingham & Stockton |
| J | 51 | Leam Lane Circular via Carr Hill, Felling Square, Heworth , Leam Lane Estate, Springwell & Wrekenton |
| 56 | Sunderland Park Lane Interchange via Wrekenton, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Springwell, Concord , Nissan Factory, Southwick | |
| 58 | Heworth Interchange via Felling Square, Windy Nook & Leam Lane Estate | |
| 58A | Wardley via Felling Square, Windy Nook, Leam Lane Estate & Heworth Interchange | |
| X58 | Follingsby Amazon Warehouse express via Heworth Interchange | |
| K | X1 | South Hetton or Peterlee via Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Springwell, Washington Galleries , Houghton-le-Spring, Hetton-le-Hole , South Hetton & Easington Village |
| X1A | Dalton Park via Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Wrekenton, Springwell, Washington Galleries , Houghton-le-Spring, Hetton-le-Hole & Murton | |
| X1B[a] | Rickleton via Felling Square, Windy Nook & Leam Lane Estate | |
| L | 21 | Brandon via Durham via Low Fell, Angel of the North, Chester-le-Street , Arnison Centre, Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor, University Hospital of North Durham, Durham and Langley Moor |
| 22 | Chester-le-Street via Low Fell, Harlow Green, Wrekenton, Eighton Banks, Portobello & Barley Mow | |
| 81 | Waterview Park or Sunderland Park Lane Interchange via Low Fell, Wrekenton, Birtley, Barley Mow, Washington Galleries , Riversoide Park & Hylton Riverside | |
| N21[e] | Durham Howlands Park & Ride Night bus via Low Fell, Angel of the North, Chester-le-Street, Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor, University Hospital of North Durham & Millburngate | |
| X12 | Middlesbrough via Durham express via Low Fell, Birtley, Chester-le-Street , Durham , Bowburn, Sedgefield, Stockton & Teesside Park | |
| X21 | West Auckland express via Low Fell, Chester-le-Street , Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor, Durham , Croxdale, Tudhoe, Spennymoor, Middlestone Moor & Bishop Auckland | |
| M | 21 | Brandon via Durham via Low Fell, Angel of the North, Chester-le-Street , Arnison Centre, Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor, University Hospital of North Durham, Durham and Langley Moor |
| 22 | Chester-le-Street via Low Fell, Harlow Green, Wrekenton, Eighton Banks, Portobello & Barley Mow | |
| N | ||
| X | ||
Long-distance coach services and excursions
| ||
- Key:
- Bus station
- National Rail station
- Tyne & Wear Metro station
Notes for bus services
Artwork
The interchange features three artworks from Metro's Art on Transport programme.
Keith Grant's Night and Day artworks were commissioned for the station in the early 1980s, at opposite ends of the station at platform level. The artwork consists of two mosaic mountain peaks, set against the backdrop of a day and night sky.[10]
A second art installation is in the tunnel and visible from northbound trains as they leave the station. Elizabeth Wright's Space Travel was commissioned in 2005, and showcases a series of 115 images which read like a short animated film strip.[11]
Danny Lane's Opening Line installation features in the bus station, and consists of a sequence of forms in steel and glass, stretching about 90 m (300 ft) in length, 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in width, and up to 5 m (16 ft) in height.[12][13]
References
- ^ a b c "Gateshead". Metro. Nexus. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ a b c Nexus (25 February 2026). "Passenger Numbers". WhatDoTheyKnow. Letter to Rhys Williams. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
- ^ "Gateshead East Station". Disused Stations. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ "Metro passengers feel the benefit of contactless payment". Nexus (Press release). 13 January 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "Revamp for Metro ticket machines". BBC News. BBC. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "City Metro stations get new smart ticket machines and gates". Nexus (Press release). 22 October 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "Pop card validators at Metro stations are put through their paces". Nexus (Press release). 21 March 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ^ "Bill Jacobs in the house". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trinity Mirror. 18 February 2013 [2004-03-30]. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland was deeply impressed when Transport Secretary Alistair Darling opened the bus and Metro interchange in Gateshead town centre and then took a ride on a bendy bus to the town's famous MetroCentre.
- ^ "Gateshead Interchange" (PDF). March 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
- ^ "'Night & Day' by Keith Grant". Art on Transport. Nexus. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ "'Space Travel' by Elizabeth Wright". Art on Transport. Nexus. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ Kennedy, Maev (12 March 2004). "Gateshead unveils latest huge artwork: a barrier at a bus station". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ^ "'Opening Line' by Danny Lane". Art on transport. Nexus. Retrieved 5 June 2026.