Four Lane Ends is a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, serving Benton and Longbenton in North Tyneside. The station joined the network in August 1980, following the opening of the line between Haymarket and Tynemouth – the first stage of the network to open. The station is located at the junction of Benton Lane, Benton Park Road and Front Street. The crossroads has historically been important for traders, cattle drivers, and those transporting local salts and lime towards the shipyards and factories in Newcastle. Nearby employment sites include Benton Park View to the west, Tyneview Park to the south east, and Quorum Business Park to the north. Unlike neighbouring Longbenton and Benton, Four Lane Ends was purpose-built for the Tyne and WearMetro network. These purpose-built stations, such as Four Lane Ends, Heworth and Regent Centre, had a definite corporate look of rectangular blocks, light enamelled wall panels, and black roofing. The station is situated at the site of the first Longbenton station, which opened in 1864 and closed at the start of 1871 – being replaced by Benton. The last remains of this station disappeared following the construction of Four Lane Ends in the late 1970s. Four Lane Ends houses two art installations, both of which were commissioned in the early 2000s. Andrew Stonyer's Pulse features in the station's courtyard, adjacent to the ticket concourse, and consists of a diameter corten steel ring, with a circle of bright neon red. Cath Campbell's Detour features on the south and west elevations of the station's multi-storey car park, creating an "animated" and "dynamic" surface, describing movement and journeys through space. The station was used by 455,198 passengers 2017–18, making it the twentieth-most-used station on the network.
Facilities
Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with two lifts providing step-free access to platforms at Four Lane Ends. As part of the Metro: All Change programme, new lifts were installed at Four Lane Ends in 2012, with new escalators installed in 2015. The station is equipped with ticket machines, 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 also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network. The station houses a small number of shops and services. A Nexus TravelShop also operated at the station until 2014. A large multi-storey pay and displaycar park is available, with 457 spaces plus 22 accessible spaces, as well as a taxi rank. There is also the provision for cycle parking, with 5 cycle pods, 5 cycle lockers, and 18 cycle spaces available for use. A bus interchange is also available at the station, providing frequent connections in and around Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside.
Service and frequency
Four Lane Ends 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, with the first train departing at 05:19. Services from platform 2 operate towards St. James via Whitley Bay, with the first train departing at 05:09. 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. Additional trains run during morning and evening peak hours between Pelaw and Monkseaton. This provides up to 10 trains per hour through the station at peak times. Journey times from Four Lane Ends are:
Four Lane Ends Interchange
Four Lane Ends Interchange is located above the Tyne and Wear Metro station. It is served by Arriva North East, Go North East and Stagecoach in Newcastle's local bus services, with frequent routes serving Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside. The bus station has seven departure stands, each of which is fitted with seating, next bus information displays, and timetable posters. The interchange was redeveloped in 2004, to include a 475 space multi-storey car park, as well as improved passenger facilities. , the stand allocation is:
