West Jesmond Metro station

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West Jesmond Metro station is one of two Tyne and Wear Metro stations that serve the suburb of Jesmond in Newcastle upon Tyne.

It was built by the North Eastern Railway company as a heavy rail station, and opened in December 1900. The station platforms are on opposite sides of the line and are linked by an underground pedestrian subway.

The platforms originally had glass awnings to shelter passengers, but these were removed in the 1970s. The sawn-off remnants of these awnings can still be seen attached to the station buildings.

The station closed in January 1978 for conversion to Metro service, reopening in August 1980. The original station buildings were kept, but the platforms were shortened and a new footbridge was built over the line. West Jesmond is the busiest suburban station on the Metro network, with 966,467 annual passenger boardings in 1995-96.^[1]

[edit] Notable landmarks

The derelict Jesmond Picture House building is adjacent to the station, and is clearly visible from passing Metro trains. This suburban cinema opened in 1921 and survived well into the multiplex age, finally closing its doors in October 1993.^[2]

[edit] References

^ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. Martin Bairstow, p 94. ISBN 1-871944-20-1.
^ Manders, Frank (2005). Cinemas of Newcastle. Tyne Bridge Publishing, p 120. ISBN 1-857951-52-2.