Metro's first ever customers take a trip down memory lane

Paula Henderson and Adrian Don have told how proud they were at being among the first people to travel on the Metro – and expressed their excitement of reliving it all over again when the Metro’s new trains enter service.

They joined the crowds bright and early the 11th August 1980 - when the first Metro trains ran with customers on board between Haymarket and Tynemouth.

It was a day that revolutionised the region’s public transport network, providing Tyne and Wear with a new light rail underground system for people to get around.

Adrian, 60, of Heaton in Newcastle, was 17 when he and a friend caught the first metro. He said: “I’m proud to say that I was one of the first people to ever travel on the Metro.

“It was such a big deal back then – we hadn’t previously had a metro system here, so we knew it such a massive occasion.

“It was an exciting time, a new era for the region.

"There had been so much build up that I just wanted to be there on day one, and I don’t consider myself a train enthusiast.

“Everyone on board felt part of it, it’s something I remember clearly and will always be fond of the fact I was there on the first day.”

He added: “The forthcoming introduction of the new Metro trains has a similar echo to what it was like back in 1980. It’s going to be such a big moment for the region.”

Paula, 61, of Dinnington, was also there on Metro’s opening day. She said: “I was 17 at the time that the Metro opened, we went up to Tynemouth station to see the first train, it was 5.30am.

"I remember getting on board and when it pulled away from the station I was struck by how fast it was.

“What we experienced was a little moment of history – I can’t wait to travel on the new Metro trains and relive some of those moments all over again.”