Byker Metro station


Byker is a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, serving Byker and Ouseburn in Newcastle upon Tyne. The station joined the network in November 1982, following the opening of the line between Tynemouth and St. James.
Prior to the construction of the Tyne and Wear Metro, there was a British Rail station at Byker, which was located to the north of Shields Road. The station closed to passengers in 1954, with the remainder of the Riverside Branch closing to passengers in July 1973.
The station was used by 318,415 passengers in 2017–18.
Heading west from Byker, the route crosses the dramatic Byker Viaduct over the Ouseburn Valley, then running alongside the East Coast Main Line, before heading underground, to Manors. The S-shaped viaduct was constructed for the Tyne and Wear Metro by Ove Arup, with work commencing in 1976, and completed in 1979.

Facilities

Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with ramps providing step-free access to platforms at Byker. The station is equipped with ticket machines, a sheltered waiting area, 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, notes and coins. The station is fitted with automatic ticket barriers, which were installed at 13 stations across the network during the early 2010s, as well as smartcard validators, which feature at all stations.
There is no dedicated car parking available at the station. There is the provision for cycle parking, with 3 cycle racks available for use.

Service and frequency

Byker is served by the, which operates between South Shields and St. James with an end-to-end journey time of 83 minutes.
Services from platform 1 operate towards South Shields via Whitley Bay, with the first train departing at 05:53. Services from platform 2 operate towards St. James, with the first train departing at 05:46. Trains run frequently across the network, at intervals of up to every 12 minutes, and every 15 minutes, with the last trains departing at around midnight.
Journey times from Byker are: