Tyne and Wear Metro station in Newcastle upon Tyne
Fawdon is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the suburbs of Fawdon and Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It was opened in 1981, adjacent to the level crossing carrying Fawdon Lane across the railway and with staggered platforms on either side of the level crossing.
History
The station is located on the route of the former Gosforth and Ponteland Light Railway, which opened on 1 May 1905.
Coxlodge station, which opened three months later with the introduction of passenger services on the line, was situated where the metro station's western (eastbound) platform is today. The line closed to passengers in June 1929, but remained open for freight traffic, including to and from the ICI Callerton explosives depot, situated between Callerton and Ponteland, and Rowntree's Fawdon factory, just west of Fawdon.[2]
In the late 1970s the line through the site was restructured to form the second phase of the Tyne and Wear Metro, between South Gosforth and Bank Foot. This opened on 10 May 1981, along with the new Fawdon station. Freight traffic to and from Rowntree's factory and ICI Callerton continued to pass through the station until they closed in July 1988 and March 1989 respectively. In 1991 the Metro line was extended from Bank Foot to Newcastle Airport.[2]
The station was used by 326,399 passengers in 2017–18, making it the fifth-most-used station on the Airport branch.[1]
In 2018, the station, along with others on the Airport branch, were refurbished as part of the Metro: All Change programme. The project saw improvements to accessibility, security and energy efficiency, as well as the re-branding of the station to the new black and white corporate colour scheme.[3]
Facilities
Kingston Park has two side platforms, which are staggered on opposite sides of the level crossing on Fawdon Lane. The eastbound platform lies to the west of the level crossing, with the westbound platform to the east. There are separate ramped accesses to the two platforms from Fawdon Lane, whilst the eastbound platform can also be accessed by the car park off Fawdon Park Road. The car park is free and has 23 spaces, plus two accessible spaces. There is also provision for cycle parking, with three cycle pods available.[4]
The station is equipped with ticket machines, waiting shelter, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point on both platforms. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment), notes and coins.[5][6] The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.[7][8]
Services
As of October 2024[update], the station is served by up to five trains per hour on weekdays and Saturday, and up to four trains per hour during the evening and on Sunday. In the southbound direction, trains run to South Hylton via Newcastle and Sunderland. In the northbound direction, trains run to Newcastle Airport.[4]
Rolling stock used: Class 599 Metrocar
References
External links