Jump to content

Kingston Park Metro station

Coordinates: 55°00′52″N 1°39′58″W / 55.0144117°N 1.6661176°W / 55.0144117; -1.6661176
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingston Park
Tyne and Wear Metro station
General information
LocationKingston Park
Newcastle upon Tyne
England
Coordinates55°00′52″N 1°39′58″W / 55.0144117°N 1.6661176°W / 55.0144117; -1.6661176
Grid referenceNZ214689
Transit authorityTyne and Wear PTE
Platforms2
Tracks2
Construction
Parking96 spaces
Bicycle facilities5 cycle pods
AccessibleStep-free access to platform
Other information
Station codeKSP
Fare zoneB
History
Original companyTyne and Wear Metro
Key dates
15 September 1985Opened
Passengers
2017/180.44 million[1]
Services
Preceding station Tyne and Wear Metro Following station
Fawdon
towards South Hylton
Green Line Bank Foot
towards Airport
Location
Kingston Park is located in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Kingston Park
Kingston Park
Kingston Park is located in Tyne and Wear
Kingston Park
Kingston Park
Location in Tyne and Wear, England

Kingston Park is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the suburb of Kingston Park in the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was opened in 1985, adjacent to the level crossing carrying Brunton Lane across the railway and with staggered platforms on either side of the level crossing.

History

[edit]

The station is located on the route of the former Gosforth and Ponteland Light Railway, which opened on 1 March 1905, with passenger services commencing three months later, but which never included a station at Kingston Park. The line through the site closed to passengers on 17 June 1929, but remained open to serve freight, latterly to the depot at ICI Callerton, where explosives were transferred from rail to road for onward transport to quarries in Northumberland.[2][3]

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, but again no station was provided at Kingston Park. On 22 March 1983, a Metro service collided with a bus operated by the Tyne and Wear PTE on the level crossing. Two people were injured in the accident.[2][4]

The development of the area surrounding Kingston Park, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, led to calls for the provision of a station. The current station eventually opened on 15 September 1985. Freight traffic to ICI Callerton continued to pass through the station until March 1989, when that depot closed, and the Metro line was extended in 1991 from Bank Foot to Newcastle Airport.[2]

In October 2012, traffic enforcement cameras were installed at the level crossings at Kingston Park and Bank Foot.[5] Similar cameras were installed at Callerton Parkway in 2008.[6]

The station was used by 443,907 passengers in 2017–18, making it the third-most-used station on the Airport branch, after South Gosforth (1,608,102) and Regent Centre (713,308).[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.[7]

Facilities

[edit]

Kingston Park has two side platforms, which are staggered on opposite sides of the level crossing on Brunton 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 Brunton Lane. A pay and display car park (operated by Newcastle City Council) is available, with 96 spaces, plus four accessible spaces. There is also the provision for cycle parking, with five cycle pods available.[8]

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.[9][10] The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.[11][12]

Services

[edit]

As of October 2024, 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.[8]

Rolling stock used: Class 599 Metrocar

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Tyne & Wear Metro usage figures". 2017–2018. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Disused Stations: Kenton Bank Station". Disused Stations. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Ponteland Light Railway & Darras Hall Branch". Northumbrian Railways. Archived from the original on 3 April 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Olver, P.M. (19 August 1985). "Report on the Collision that occurred on 22nd March 1983 at Brunton Lane Level Crossing on the Tyneside Metropolitan Railway". Department for Transport. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Safety cameras for Metro level crossings". Nexus. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Cameras for Metro train crossing". BBC News. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  7. ^ Peskett, Joe (3 October 2017). "£300k scheme to improve access at five Newcastle metro stations". Access and Mobility Professional. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Timetables and stations: Kingston Park". Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Metro passengers feel the benefit of contactless payment". Nexus. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Revamp for Metro ticket machines". BBC News. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  11. ^ "City Metro stations get new smart ticket machines and gates". Nexus. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Pop card validators at Metro stations are put through their paces". Nexus. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
[edit]