Gateshead Interchange is a multimodal transport hub, serving the town of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It opened on 15 November 1981, as part of the third phase of the network, between Haymarket and Heworth Interchange.
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History
The station replaced the former British Rail station, which closed in November 1981, with the Interchange situated around 400 m (440 yd) to the south west of the former station.
The design of the station is very different from the underground stations in central Newcastle, due to the different rock structure south of the River Tyne. The running tunnels are square, rather than circular in cross-section, with the station excavated as a box.
The Metro station was used by 3.202 million passengers in 2024/25, lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 3.554 million in 2018/19.
Facilities
Step-free access is available at all stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro network, with lifts providing step-free access from street-level to platforms at Gateshead. The station is equipped with ticket machines, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point on both platforms. The ticket machines accept credit and debit cards (including contactless payment), notes and coins. The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which feature at all stations across the network.
There is no dedicated car parking available at the station, however there are a number of pay and display car parks operated by Gateshead Council located nearby. A taxi rank is located on Walker Terrace. There is the provision for cycle parking, five cycle racks and five cycle pods available for use. A large bus interchange is located on the upper level, providing frequent connections across the region.
Metro services
As of June 2026, the station is served by up to ten trains per hour – five trains in each direction on both of the Yellow and Green lines – on weekdays and Saturdays, and up to eight trains per hour during the evening and on Sundays. In the northbound direction, half the trains run to Newcastle Airport and half to St James via Whitley Bay. In the southbound direction, half the trains run to South Shields and half to South Hylton via Sunderland.
Bus services
The bus station is located above the Tyne and Wear Metro station. It also opened on 15 November 1981, and was initially operated by Northern General – despite being designed in the house style of the Tyne and Wear PTE.
The original bus station was demolished and rebuilt in the early 2000s, to a design by Jefferson Sheard Architects. It was officially re-opened on 29 March 2004, by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling. The building houses a number of shops and services.
It is mostly served by Go North East's local bus services, with frequent routes serving Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as County Durham, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Teesside. Arriva North East, operating the hourly X12 service and independent operators Gateshead Central Buses, operating the TB29 and one 29 service, and Northstar, operating early morning and late evening 96 services, also serve the bus station.
The bus station has 13 departure stands (lettered A–N; no I), with an additional stand (X) used by long-distance coach services. Each stand is fitted with seating, next bus information displays, and timetable posters.
As of August 2026, the stand allocation is:
Artwork
The interchange features three artworks from Metro's Art on Transport programme.
Keith Grant's Night and Day artworks were commissioned for the station in the early 1980s, at opposite ends of the station at platform level. The artwork consists of two mosaic mountain peaks, set against the backdrop of a day and night sky.
A second art installation is in the tunnel and visible from northbound trains as they leave the station. Elizabeth Wright's Space Travel was commissioned in 2005, and showcases a series of 115 images which read like a short animated film strip.
Danny Lane's Opening Line installation features in the bus station, and consists of a sequence of forms in steel and glass, stretching about 90 m (300 ft) in length, 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in width, and up to 5 m (16 ft) in height.