Tynemouth is a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, serving the Tynemouth area of North Tyneside. The Tyne and WearMetro station at Tynemouth was opened as a terminus station in August 1980, for services between Haymarket and Tynemouth. November 1982 saw the commencement of through services, following Metro's extension from Tynemouth to St. James. The station was used by approximately 560,000 passengers in 2017-18. Tynemouth station is a Grade II* listed building. It was designed by William Bell for the North Eastern Railway Company. As well as serving the Tyne and Wear Metro, it hosts a number of permanent businesses, and a popular weekly market. North Tyneside Council and Millhouse Developments jointly own Station Developments Limited, which in turn is the station's owner.
History
The railway station was opened in 1882, by the North Eastern Railway. It served as the terminus for the first section of the Metro network from Tynemouth to Haymarket, which opened in August 1980. Between August 1980 and November 1982, all trains used the present platform 2. Tynemouth became a through station once more in November 1982, when the section of line between to St. James and Tynemouth began operation. British Rail continued to use the bay platforms at the southern end of platform 2 for services from Newcastle via Wallsend until the day before the first section of the Metro opened, meaning that Tynemouth station never closed. The bay platforms at Tynemouth are still there, but without any regular services or track.
Regeneration
In 2007, English Heritage placed the station on its Heritage at Risk Register of notable buildings in need of restoration. In early April 2009, plans regarding proposed regeneration of the station were put on show to members of the public and local businesses. The Planning Committee of North Tyneside Council received a planning application dated 16 September 2009, which envisaged substantial redevelopment of the Tynemouth station site. The owners of the site, Station Developments Limited wished to build a 16,000 ft2 supermarket on the site, as well as other improvements. A leading supermarket chain was said to have shown interest. The insertion of a supermarket of such size would be likely to have a large effect on the amenity of the surrounding area, which is a designated conservation area. The station was renovated in 2012, and following the refurbishment, was officially opened by Anne, Princess Royal on 2 July 2012, and subsequently removed from the Heritage at Risk register.
Service & Frequency
Tynemouth is served by the Yellow Line. This line runs up to every 12 minutes during the day, and up to every 15 minutes in the evenings and on a Sunday.
Events
A weekly market is held in the station concourse every Saturday & Sunday, which doubles as a farmers' market once a month. The Friends of Tynemouth Station have held book fairs several times a year and they have also arranged the displays of artwork that travellers regularly see in the central section of the bridge and hanging from the roof area at the station. The station concourse is also used as an events area, during the annual Mouth of the Tyne Festival.
