|
Tyneside Electrics |
|
|
| RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE
RAILWAY BRITAIN |
|
|
|
Origins of the Tyneside Electrics network: The main suburban rail lines around Newcastle that later formed the Tyneside Electrics network were originally opened by the North Eastern Railway (NER) in the late 19th century. They were the North Tyneside Loop from Newcastle via Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay and South Gosforth back to Newcastle, the East Coast Main Line (ECML) from Newcastle to Benton (providing a short cut to Monkseaton and Whitley Bay), and the Riverside Branch from Byker to Percy Main via Walker. However by the early 20th century these suburban rail lines were facing stiff competition for customers from the newly constructed electric tramways between Newcastle and the coastal suburbs on the north side of the River Tyne. As a result the North Eastern Railway had to take decisive action to win back the two million passenger journeys that had been lost to the trams in 1902 alone. The NER decided to reinvent these suburban rail lines by completely electrifying them. The NER hired Charles H. Mertz as consultive engineer for the project and work began in January 1903. The system was partially opened on 25th March 1904 with the whole system completed by August 1904. While the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's electrification of the Liverpool Exchange to Southport line in 1904 had created first electrified mainline railway in the UK. The NER in creating the Tyneside Electrics, again in 1904, went one stage further by electrifying all its suburban lines en-masse as the first all electric suburban rail network in the UK.This new electrified suburban rail network, the Tyneside Electrics, achieved its goal and won back passengers from the tramways. Thus the commuters and leisure travellers of the Tyne & Wear area were able to enjoy a vastly improved service of swift, efficient, comfortable electric trains that were far superior to the steam hauled services they replaced. Like the LYR electric trains in Merseyside the electrification was carried out using the third rail system. The NER did not build their own power station but chose to buy in electricity from the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company. A new train depot to house the new electric trains was built at Walkergate near Heaton. The original NER electric trains built for the Tyneside Electrics were all built in house at the NER's carriage works in York. The trains were heavily influenced by American electric train design. The first batch was in the period 1903/4 with the electrical equipment being supplied by British Thomson-Houston (BT-H). BT-H were the British representatives of the General Electric Company Inc., and the original batches of rolling stock were fitted with American-built control gear and motors, the later batches used equipment manufactured at the BT-H factory at Rugby. There were also two petrol-electric railcars. The growth in traffic gave rise to further additions in the 1914/15 period, which along with rebuilds meant a very diverse range of vehicles. In August 1918 there was a serious fire at the original car shed located at Walkergate, which completely destroyed 34 cars and damaged many more. An order for 35 replacement cars was placed and these were built between 1920 and 1922. These were to a somewhat different design, with revised roofline and improved electrical equipment. They took the same running numbers as the destroyed cars. The original NER stock after the Grouping in 1923 to form the Big Four railway companies, remained in service with the LNER which had taken over the NER. In 1937 the North Tyneside electric lines were complemented by the addition of a South Tyneside electric route when the line from Newcastle Central to South Shields via Gateshead and Pelaw was also electrified by the LNER. In 1937, the youngest former NER stock, namely the 1920-built "replacement stock" for those vehicles destroyed in the 1918 fire, was refurbished for use on the newly-electrified South Tyneside line. The other NER stock, some of which dated back to 1903/4 was replaced on the North Tyneside lines by new articulated units built for the LNER by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham.  Photo: LNER "Tyneside Electric" stock introduced 1937 In 1948 Britain's railways were nationalised and the Big Four companies were replaced by British Railways. On the Tyneside Electrics, the LNER 1937 stock remained in service after nationalisation. In 1955, BR introduced new stock on the South Tyneside line based on the Southern Region 2-EPB vehicles and these were designated the South Tyneside 1951 Stock. Although electrically identical to the 2-EPB, the body on the motor brake cars had a much enlarged luggage space to accommodate prams. Minor detail differences were route indicating lights and destination blinds. The 1920 NER stock was withdrawn and was broken up at Simonside Wagon Works near Tyne Dock in the period 1956-8. De-electrification of the Tyneside Electrics: Sadly no further extensions to the Tyneside Electrics network were made by British Railways and by the early 1960s the whole of the electrical equipment on the network was showing its age and in need of replacement. Unfortunately British Railways took the decision not to renew the electric system but instead replace the electric trains with diesel units. The South Tyneside line was the first to be de-electrified in 1963 and the North Tyneside line followed in 1967. By the 1960s the bus had become the main form of public transport especially in urban areas and the Tyneside Electrics network was facing stiff competition. The scenario that had been played out in the early 20th century between the train and trams was occurring again but with the train and buses instead. Rebirth as the Tyne & Wear Metro:  In 1968, Nexus was created as the transport authority for Tyne & Wear. Quickly a vison was developed to fully revive the old Tyneside Electrics network once again as an electrified rail network but as a light rapid transit system. Eventually the resources were found to create the light rapid transit system in Tyne & Wear based on the old Tyneside Electrics network. Construction started in 1974 with the first section from Haymarket to Tynemouth which opened in 1980. The system then was gradually opened in phases through to 1984 when the entire 55 km of the original network was once again electrified and operational. The Tyne & Wear Metro is the first modern light rail system in the UK and is made up of converted suburban railways and new construction, some of which is in tunnels under the centres of Newcastle, Sunderland and Gateshead. Some of its route follows the world’s oldest commuter railway, built in the 1830s between Gateshead and Brockley Whins. The Tyne & Wear Metro was the first railway in the UK to be specifically designed to be fully accessible. It was also the first to be non-smoking throughout and the first to offer internet and phone access within tunnels. The Tyne and Wear Metro was also the first railway in the UK to operate using the metric system; all its speeds and distances are measured in metric units only. In 1991 a 3.5km extension to Newcastle Airport was added, while in 2002 an 18.5km extension to Sunderland city centre and beyond to South Hylton, further extended the network. With the opening of the Sunderland extension in 2002, the Tyne & Wear Metro became the first UK system to implement a form of the Karlsruhe model, using track shared with main-line trains on the section between Pelaw and Sunderland. In recent years the system has continued to grow and be extended – the 59th station opened in the fast-growing Northumberland Park suburb in December 2005 and the 60th, at Simonside, opened in late 2007. For the new light rapid transit system 90 articulated Metrocars were built and are a British derivative of the FRG Stadtbahnwagen B. They are of lightweight steel construction and clad in aluminium with attractive easyto-maintain finishes. They were built by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham. The cars were all extensively refurbished in 1999-2000 to provide more space for children’s buggies, wheelchairs and luggage. Each Metrocar provides seating for 68 passengers with a crush load capacity of 300. Metrocars are single-manned with the driver seated in a one third width cab at the leading end of the vehicle. The system has its own fleet of works locomotives and vehicles, operating out of Gosforth Depot where the passenger fleet is also maintained. When the Tyne & Wear Metro first opened it was claimed to be part of the UK's first integrated public transport system. The Metro was intended to cover trunk journeys, while buses were reoriented toward shorter local trips, integrated with the Metro schedule, to bring passengers to and from the Metro stations, using integrated ticketing. Much was made of the Metro's interchange stations such as Four Lane Ends and Regent Centre, which combined a large Park & Ride facility with a bus and Metro station. However in 1985 with bus deregulation this integration came to an end. In 1996 British Rail was privatised, but the Tyne & Wear Metro was retained by Nexus (Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive) and remains fully owned and operated by Nexus. However on 3rd November 2008 Nexus invited potential bidders to declare an interest in a contract to run the Operations side of the business on its behalf. The successful bidder will have a 7 year franchise contract starting 1 April 2010, with up to an additional two years depending on performance. As a result the operation of the Tyne & Wear Metro is being privatised via a franchise contract system while retaining overall ownership of the system in public ownership with Nexus. In December 2009 Deutsche Bahan (DB) Group was named as the preferred bidder. The contract for operating the system will be signed in early 2010, with service being handed over to Deutsche Bahn (DB) Group on the 1st April 2010. The Tyne & Wear Metro is a system designed and built in the 1970s which has been used by more than a billion passengers since it opened in 1980. But now it is beginning to show its age and to meet the rising aspirations of the travelling public of today and tomorrow, major new investment in the Tyne & Wear Metro is essential. Nexus recently secured £300 million in government funding to pursue a three-phase investment plan to revitalise the Tyne & Wear Metro into a state of the art transport system for the 21st century. In 2010 new ticket machines accepting notes and cards at all stations, and barriers at 13 main stations are being installed. Nexus is investing £1 million as part of the all change programme to replace six lifts on the system with new, quieter, more efficient ones. These are at Monument, Central, Gateshead, South Shields and Chichester, with works starting in July 2009 and lasting until 2010. The programme also includes overhauling infrastructure including communications, track and overhead power lines, structures and embankments. This is then followed by refurbishment of 90 Metro trains and modernisation of 45 stations, a new communications system, overhaul and maintenance of structures such as bridges, tunnels, track and overhead power lines. Additional funding would be required to meet other goals, such as a new station in South Tyneside, new park and ride facilities, doubling of the line between Pelaw and Bede, and the rebuilding of South Shields, Heworth and North Shields stations. By 2019 the current Metro trains will be life expired and so a new fleet of Metrocar trains is being procured with the aim of getting them in service by 2019 along with a new signalling system and a new generation ticket machines, overhaul and maintenance of structures, track and overhead lines, and further station improvements. Nexus www.nexus.org.uk Nexus - Tyne & Wear Metro http://www.nexus.org.uk/wps/wcm/connect/Nexus/Metro DB Bahn www.bahn.com Deutsche Bahn (DB) Group www.db.de |
(c)
The AJN Transport Britain Collection 2009
A TRANSPORT
BRITAIN WEBSITE