Newcastle upon Tyne Transport

TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Newcastle Upon Tyne > Newcastle upon Tyne Transport

This is the page for transport in and around Newcastle. Click on the Newcastle category at the bottom of the page to find more information about Newcastle. Public transport in Newcastle is overseen by Nexus who work with service operators and local councils. Nexus also own the Tyne and Wear Metro which run for them by DB Regio.

Local Buses

Buses run across the city, with bus stations located at Haymarket and Eldon Square. Major bus stops are located at Central Station, Eldon Square and Gallowgate. Buses are operated by Arriva, Go Ahead North East and Stagecoach. Students at Newcastle upon Tyne University mainly use Stagecoach as they operate most of the buses to the student halls of residence that are located furthest from the university (St Mary's College and Henderson Hall)

Students living at Henderson Hall, St Mary's College and in areas not served by the Metro, north of the River Tyne are recommended to buy a unirider from Stagecoach.

In general, buses running to the south (Gateshead, Durham, Sunderland etc.) are operated by Go North East. For the most part they use the new Eldon Square bus station.

Buses going north, through Gosforth into Northumberland right up to places such as Seahouses and Alnwick are operated by Arriva. Arriva uses Haymarket bus station which is about to undergo renovation. It is situated on Percy Street connected to Marks & Spencer's food hall. The Eldon Square bus station is also on Percy Street; you just need to cross one road to be there from Haymarket bus station.

Stagecoach operate most cross-city services. All of their services go through the city centre at some point. Stagecoach uses Blackett Street as its main thoroughfare through the city centre. Services using Blackett Street include the numbers 12, 39, 40, 62 and 63. If you live in accommodation in areas like Fenham, then numbers 12, 62 and 63 will take you nearby. The 62 and 63 also stop near Castle Leazes but the walk isn't far to the centre anyway.

If you live or study at Henderson Hall or Coach Lane Campus or anywhere else in the east of the city then Stagecoach bus number 1 will be the best. This also goes through the likes of Sandyford and Heaton which have quite big student communities. This doesn't stop on Blackett Street. In the centre it stops at Central Station, Grainger Street and Pilgrim Street. The latter being at a junction with Blackett Street so all services are close together.

If you only need to use one bus operator, the best way for ticketing is to buy a bus pass which is exclusive to that operator. If you need to use multiple operators, you should look into buying a Network One Ticket from Nexus. As well as access to buses, these also allow the use of the Shields Ferry, Metro and some local rail services depending on how many zones you buy for your pass. These can be bought from Nexus Ticket Shops which are found in main Metro stations such as Monument and Four Lane Ends as well as online.

Currently under consideration by Nexus and individual operators is a smartcard system for ticketing like the Oyster card in London.

Metro

Map of the Metro System

Newcastle most iconic public transport system is its Metro. Services run north of the town to Gosforth. Kingston Park, Airport and Whitley Bay. Services run east of the city through Byker and North Shields to Whitley Bay. Services run south of the city to Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland. Fares can be very costly (Fare and Ticket Prices but regular travellers get a Metro Student Card Students living in the Bowsden Court accomodation, in South Gosforth are likely to need to use the metro daily.

The system is now 30 years old so Metro is currently undergoing a massive refurbishment. All trains have just been super valeted and have been fitted with new LED information boards. The first train has recently been taken to be rebuilt (interior and some changes to the exterior) to bring it up to more modern standards but the new design is currently a secret. Soon, new ticket machines will be installed into stations which will allow the use of credit and debit cards as well as notes. As well as these new machines, new barriers will be installed in the busiest stations (City centre stations and some suburban ones such as Jesmond) akin to those now in place in Central Station, as well as those used in other systems such as London Underground. George Osborne confirmed that Metro's funding for this refurbishment will continue when he made his budget this year.

Airport

There are international as well as European flights from the airport, and low cost airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair fly from Newcastle. For those that are International students, the university offers various services prior and during Freshers week. International Students can arrive the Wednesday before everyone else.

There are numerous daily flights to 3 London airports; twice daily to Stansted, 6 daily to Heathrow and twice daily to Gatwick operated by easyJet, British Airways and Flybe respectively. If booked in advance, a flight to Stansted costs about £22 and to Heathrow £31. The route to Stansted was due to be cancelled in October 2010 but has been extended until March 2011.

Ryanair fly to Dublin, Oslo and Girona. The main low cost airline currently operating from Newcastle is Jet2.com.

Newcastle isn't just an airport for low cost flights to holiday destinations. There are direct flights to many major cities such as BA to London-Heathrow, KLM to Amsterdam, Brussels Airlines to Brussels, Air France to Paris, Emirates to Dubai, Cimber Sterling to Copenhagen, Ryanair to Oslo and Dublin, easyJet to Rome etc.

There is no mainline rail link to the airport, and nor is there a bus. Metro is the most convenient way to reaching Newcastle being about 20 minutes away.

Ferries

The only current international ferry service from North Shields is to Amsterdam provided by DFDS. There is a local ferry which crosses the Tyne between North & South Shields.

Trains

The Central station is on the East Coast Main Line linking London and Edinburgh. Trains also run to Carlisle, York, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol and the South West.

Coaches

There are intercity bus services such as Megabus and National Express. Most run from Scotland, through Yorkshire to London.

Megabus picks up outside of the train station on Neville Street. The National Express Coach Station is located next door to the Life Centre. Head past the Life Centre along Neville Street away from the train station and take the second left after it. It is on your left within 50 metres.

Road Links

Newcastle is easily accessible from both the North & South via the A1 and A19. Motorists travelling from Carlisle and Ireland (Stranraer) access the city from the A69. Very few parking places exist in the city and those that do are expensive. Many students do not bring a car.

Taxis

Taxis tend to be fairly priced. Be careful with the dodgier characters though. Some are very happy to try and get a few extra quid out of you. As with anywhere, it is best to phone for a private hire taxi.

See Also

• Travel