Wikipedia

Northumberland Park station (Tyne and Wear)

Northumberland Park is a multimodal transport hub with both a Tyne and Wear Metro station and a National Rail station, serving the village of Backworth and suburbs of Northumberland Park and West Allotment, as well as the nearby Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England.

Northumberland Park
National Rail Tyne and Wear Metro
A Northern Class 156 and a Metro Class 555 at Northumberland Park
General information
LocationNorthumberland Park, NE27
North Tyneside
England
Coordinates55°01′59″N 1°31′12″W / 55.0330°N 1.5200°W / 55.0330; -1.5200
OS Grid refNZ 308 710
SystemMultimodal transport hub including Tyne and Wear Metro and National Rail stations
Owned by
Managed by
Transit authorityNexus
Lines
  •   Green line
  • Northumberland line
Platforms3 (Metro: 2, National Rail: 1)
Tracks3 (Metro: 2, National Rail: 1)
Bus stands5
Construction
Accessible
  • Step-free access, with lifts from street-level to platforms
  • Metro: also level-boarding to trains
Other information
Station code
Key dates
11 December 2005 (2005-12-11)Metro station opened
22 February 2026National Rail station opened
Passengers
Tyne and Wear Metro
2020/21Decrease 129,310
2021/22Increase 451,926
2022/23Increase 591,273
2023/24Increase 618,656
2024/25Decrease 588,318
Services
Preceding station Tyne and Wear Metro Following station
Palmersville
towards South Shields
 Yellow line Shiremoor
towards St James via Whitley Bay
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Northern Trains
Location
Northumberland Park is located in Tyne and Wear
Northumberland Park
Northumberland Park
Location in Tyne and Wear, England
Map
Notes
  • Metro passenger statistics from Nexus.[1]

The Metro station opened on 11 December 2005, on the alignment of the former Blyth and Tyne Railway.[2] A Network Rail line – which was freight-only between 1964 and 2024 – shares the alignment at this point. The National Rail station opened on 22 February 2026 as part of the Northumberland Line, creating a new interchange with the Metro network.

The station entrance is on Algernon Drive, with stairs and lifts providing access to both Metro and National Rail platforms.[3]

The Northumberland line has been integrated into the Metro's fare system,[4] allowing passengers to make through Metro/rail journeys using a Nexus Pop smartcard.[5][6]

History

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Northumberland Park Metro station

The interchange is located west of the site of the former railway station at Backworth, which was closed on 13 June 1977, to enable construction of the Tyne and Wear Metro. When the Metro opened in 1980, no station was provided at or near the former Backworth station site, and Shiremoor was the nearest Metro station.[7]

Metro station

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The station was used by 588,318 passengers in 2024/25.[1] considerably lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 779,043 in 2017/18.[1]

Facilities

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Station entrance, showing stairs and lift to Metro platforms.

The station has an island platform between the twin Metro tracks.

The station is equipped with ticket machines, a sheltered waiting area, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit cards (including contactless payment), notes and coins. The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which are featured at all stations across the network.[8][9][10][11]

Services

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As of May 2026, the station is served by up to five trains per hour – in each direction – on weekdays and Saturdays, and up to four trains per hour during the evening and on Sundays. In the eastbound direction, trains run to St James via Whitley Bay. In the westbound direction, trains run to South Shields via Monument. Additional services previously operated between Pelaw and Monkseaton at peak times, but have recently been withdrawn, as a result of poor fleet availability.[3][12]

National Rail station

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History

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Northumberland Park Rail station

From December 2024, passenger rail services were introduced between Newcastle and Ashington, as part of the Northumberland Line project.[13][14] The passenger service uses the existing single-track freight line which parallels the Tyne and Wear Metro line between Benton Junction and the site of Backworth Junction, to the east of Northumberland Park station.[15]

A planning application for the new National Rail station was submitted to North Tyneside Council on 2 February 2021.[16] The submitted planning documents indicate that the station will have a single platform, located on the north side of Network Rail track,[17] which is designed to accommodate a four-car train.[18] It will be provided with two waiting shelters[18] and will be accessed from Algernon Drive via stairs and a lift.[17] Approval for the new station was granted on 17 September 2021.[19]

Northumberland Park's new National Rail station was constructed by the project's primary contractor, Morgan Sindall.[20] The main construction phase began in 2022.[20] The station opened on 22 February 2026, with passenger services having commenced on the line in December 2024.[20][21][22]

Facilities

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The station has a single platform for the single National Rail track passing through the station.

The station is equipped with a ticket machine, sheltered waiting areas, seating, next train information displays, and an emergency help point. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment), and will print 'promise to pay' tickets for cash users. The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which are featured at all stations on the Northumberland Line.

Services

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As of May 2026, the station is served by two trains per hour – in each direction – on weekdays and Saturdays, and hourly during the evening and on Sundays. The end-to-end journey time between Newcastle Central and Ashington is around 35 minutes.[23] All services are operated by Northern Trains.

Shared facilities

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The station car park

The interchange serves as a park and ride with a multi-storey car park which has 393 spaces, plus 12 accessible spaces. There is also provision for cycle parking, with five cycle pods.

A small bus interchange with two stands is located at the station, which are served primarily by the 19 bus - providing onward connections in and around North Tyneside and south east Northumberland, Three more bus stops are located within walking distance.[3]. There is also a small taxi rank located next to the bus stops.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Nexus (25 February 2026). "Passenger Numbers". WhatDoTheyKnow. Letter to Rhys Williams. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Northumberland Park Metro station : Tyne and Wear Metro : TheTrams.co.uk". www.thetrams.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Northumberland Park". Travel North East. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Metro fare Zone Map" (PDF). Metro. Nexus. 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Tickets". Northumberland Line. Retrieved 28 May 2026. In addition, customers can also use integrated fares with the Tyne & Wear Metro with the Nexus Pop Card.
  6. ↑ "Pop Pay As You Go". Pop card. Nexus. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Young, Alan. "Disused Stations: Backworth Station (2nd site)". Disused Stations. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Metro passengers feel the benefit of contactless payment". Nexus (Press release). 13 January 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Revamp for Metro ticket machines". BBC News. BBC. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "City Metro stations get new smart ticket machines and gates". Nexus (Press release). 22 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "Pop card validators at Metro stations are put through their paces". Nexus (Press release). 21 March 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Tyne & Wear Metro: No timetable cuts planned for now". BBC News. BBC. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "Northumberland Line". Transport. Northumberland County Council. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Northumberland Line reopening plan advances". Railway Gazette International. Sutton: DVV Media Group. 15 May 2020. ISSN 0373-5346. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "Plans to hook up Northumberland to Metro station via new passenger rail link". Berwick Advertiser. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "21/00299/FUL – Planning – Application Summary: Northumberland Park Metro Station". North Tyneside Council. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  17. 1 2 "21/00299/FUL - PLANNING DRAWINGS GENERAL ARRANGEMENT" (PDF). North Tyneside Council. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  18. 1 2 "21/00299/FUL - PROPOSED GENERAL ARRANGEMENT" (PDF). North Tyneside Council. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  19. ↑ Sedgwick, David (17 September 2021). "Second new station for Northumberland Line gets green light". Whitley Bay News Guardian. National World. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 Horgan, Rob (9 August 2021). "Morgan Sindall to build six new stations for Northumberland line restoration". New Civil Engineer. London: Metropolis International. ISSN 0307-7683. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "Northumberland Park Opening Date Announced". Northumberland Line. 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  22. ↑ "Northern drivers preparing to operate passenger services on new Northumberland Line ahead of opening". Northern Trains (Press release). 19 September 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "The Northumberland Line project". North & East route. Network Rail. Archived from the original on 18 February 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2026.

Sources

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