Sunderland celebrates 20th anniversary of Metro services running to Wearside

The Metro commenced operation on Tyneside in 1981 and after two decades of waiting the £100m extension connecting the service to Sunderland was eventually opened on March 31, 2002.

The line was was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen in a ceremony at Park Lane Interchange on May 7 that same year.

After unveiling an opening plaque at the interchange, the Queen took a Metro journey to Fellgate, Jarrow, and driving the train that day was Michael Scott, who is now retired and living in New Zealand.

Commenting on the responsibility of driving the monarch, Michael said: “I'm surprised at the pride and emotion I feel almost 20 years on from that big day. It was such an huge honour to drive a Metro train with the Queen on board.

“I had a similar feeling to someone about to play the FA Cup Final. I was really looking forward to it, but I was also really nervous. I was worried about something going wrong.

"What if I made an error? What if I went through a red signal and the brakes came on suddenly?

“I did get a bit twitchy about it all.”

Along the journey, Michael recalled the crowds at every station and the hoards of children waving Union Jack flags.

He added: “Thinking back, and looking back too, I've seen the footage, and I look absolutely petrified. When we arrived at Fellgate and the Queen disembarked, I half expected Her Majesty to tap on my window – as often happened with elderly customers - saying ‘thanks’ and offering me a sweet.“

In the 20 years since that landmark day the Metro, which is operated by Nexus, has completed 138 million journeys, providing a key connection for business, work and pleasure.

Chief Operating Officer at Nexus, Martin Kearney, said: “The Sunderland Metro line has been such a success. The line provided Sunderland with a fast, frequent and reliable transport link which has become part of everyday life.

"People rely on it every day to get to places of work, school, college, and for leisure activities. It’s a vital strategic transport corridor.

“It was a complex project to complete and was the first line that saw Metro services shared on a Network Rail line that carries heavy rail trains.

“A huge amount of work went into winning Government support for the project and all of the construction phase that followed. What’s there today is testament to the hard work that was put into winning funding and making the scheme a reality.

"It continues to be a success story for Sunderland, and it was fitting the line was formally opened by the Queen.”

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Director General of Nexus at the time - and the man who oversaw the £100m extension – was Mike Parker.

Now retired and reflecting back on the success of the development, Mike said: “It was the biggest project that Nexus had been involved in for decades, and it was a project that was long overdue.

“People in Sunderland really wanted the Metro. It was a project which had been looked at in the early 1990s but when I came in I felt that we had paid lip service to the idea.

"It was my role to secure the political and financial support for the extension. I had the task of getting the Government at the time to say ‘yes we are going to back this’.

"We had to do a lot of lobbying and when that was successful we had to negotiate all of the plans with Rail Track – now Network Rail - and the Rail Regulator.

“Once all of the negotiations were completed it was very much the job of our project team to deliver the construction phase.”

The line was opened in the year of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Mike was charged with the task of showing her around.

He added: “Her Majesty was terrific. There was a lovely moment when the train went by some pigeon lofts and the Queen told me that she kept racing pigeons at the Sandringham Estate, and that her pigeon keeper was the son of an Italian cream seller.

"I was quite surprised at how easy it was to talk to the Queen on that short train journey.”

Expansion of the line has brought many benefits to the Wearside residents, opening up connections across the Tyne and Wear conurbations, including connections to the Metro Centre, Newcastle city and airport, as well as providing easy access to the Stadium of Light.

Twelve Metro stations across Sunderland and South Tyneside were added to the system to accommodate the extension. Eight of those - Fellgate, Stadium of Light, St. Peter's, Park Lane, University, Millfield, Pallion and South Hylton – were newly built, while improvements were made to the four existing rail stations at Brockley Whins, East Boldon, Seaburn and Sunderland.

One of those businesses to benefit from a wider sphere of accessible travel has been the Sunderland Empire Theatre which has a partnership with Nexus to provide free theatre travel.

Theatre Director Marie Nixon said: “The extension of the Metro was a significant moment for Sunderland Empire as it enabled us to attract new audiences from across Tyne and Wear to see our incredible shows.”

Chief Executive of Sunderland Business Improvement District, Sharon Appleby, said: “The opening of the new Sunderland Metro line delivered a real boost for the city in terms of trade and connectivity.

“Good transport links are absolutely vital for our success and getting the Metro here delivered a vital new link which to this day continues to be a massive benefit for Sunderland."

Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Graeme Miller, added: “It’s difficult to overstate the changes and many benefits the Metro extension into Sunderland has brought to not only our city but to Tyne and Wear.

“I think most people in Sunderland would now find it almost unimaginably inconvenient if there was no Metro and as new trains come into service we look forward to the next 20 years.”

And the expansion may still have further to run with a campaign now underway to extend the Metro to Washington.

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