Tyneside’s system a fine example of light rail

Christian Wolmar is absolutely right about the only integrated transport system the UK has ever known ( RAIL 806).

When Newcastle’s Metro and buses were run by Tyne & Wear PTE, passenger numbers were booming, only to be demolished when bus deregulation was forced on the provinces. In the mid-1980s public transport patronage was declining in all the Met counties except Tyne & Wear, where it was increasing - proof that the integrated policy was working.

But at the start of the 21st century, Tyne & Wear had ambitious plans to expand the Metro network (Project Orpheus) using not only parts of the Leamside line but also lines to Denton and the west side, the south Tyne through Bladon and the Metro Centre, the Team Valley, South Shields to Sunderland, Four Lane Ends to Killingworth, and Gosforth to the Airport. More could have followed. Some of these would have been tramway extensions with tram-train type LRVs.

The economic recession and the urgent need to maintain and upgrade the existing Metro overtook these far-sighted plans and Project Orpheus was quietly forgotten, but the need to make best use of the core network and extend its benefits to other parts of the conurbation is still just as strong.

Replacing the existing fleet is long overdue, but any replacement vehicles should be capable of street running to preserve route options for the next 30 years. Tony Young, Skipton

Christian Wolmar and Tobyn Hughes are looking back through rose-tinted glasses at the era of Tyne & Wear Metro integration pre-1986 bus deregulation ( RAIL 806).

Others see it as an unnecessary modal switch forcing passengers to get off a bus in Gateshead within sight of their Newcastle like the era of any telephone you want as long as it’s two-tone grey.

Now passengers have a genuine modal choice in the commercial market with a range of good value integrated tickets. Roger French, Hassocks