As the Tyne and Wear Metro gets ready to welcome a new fleet of trains – with the first set to enter service in the next few weeks – two people who travelled on the first services back in August 1980 of the original fleet have bee reminiscing. Paula Henderson and Adrian Don, both now in their 60s, have told how proud they were at being among the first people to travel on the network.
Adrian, 60, of Heaton in Newcastle, was 17 when services began on 11th August 1980. He and a friend ventured out at the crack of dawn to catch the new Metro.
He said: “I’m proud to say that I was one of the first people to ever travel on the Tyne and Wear Metro. It was such a big deal back then. We hadn’t previously had a metro system here, so we knew it such a massive occasion. Me and a friend had ridden the night bus and got to Long Benton just before 5am. It was still dark. Then, just as it was starting to get light, that first Metro train pulled up. There were quite a lot of people there at this point. The train was pretty much full.
“The PTE bosses were all on board and there were quite a few people for the first train when we pulled into Tynemouth. It was an exciting time. A new era for the region. There had been so much build up that I just wanted to be there on day one, and I don’t consider myself a train enthusiast.
“I got this sense of great euphoria that they’d got the first train into service. Everyone on board felt part of it. It was a real wow moment. It was exciting, and it’s something I remember clearly and will always be fond of the fact I was there on the first day.”
“The forthcoming introduction of the new Metro trains has a similar echo to what it was like back in 1980. I’m really looking forward to travelling on the new trains. When they start to enter service it will feel like the rebirth of the Metro system. It’s going to be such a big moment for the region.”
Paula, 61, of Dinnington near Newcastle, was also there on the first day. She said: “I was 17 at the time that the Metro opened. I recall that morning in 1980 as my brother and sister got me out of bed to go along and travel on the new Metro train. Looking back, I’m so glad that I went.
“We went up to Tynemouth station to see the first train. It was 5.30am. I remember getting on board and when it pulled away from the station I was struck by how fast it was.
“The trains were lovely back then. They were all so shiny and new. It was such an exciting time and to be among the first is something that I’ve always remembered. It was worth getting up for after all. I look back on that more fondly now, as my brother and sister who were with me that day are sadly no longer with us.
“What we experienced was a little moment of history. There were lots of other people there that morning who got to take it in, too. I can’t wait to travel on the new Metro trains and relive some of those moments all over again.”
We too were on the first journey from Longbenton having been issued tickets 17 and 18. a memorable journey matched by riding on the last trolleybus (599) from West Denton in 1966.