Northumberland Park is a multimodal transport hub with both a Tyne and Wear Metro station and a National Rail station, serving the village of Backworth and suburbs of Northumberland Park and West Allotment, as well as the nearby Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England.
The Metro station opened on 11 December 2005, on the alignment of the former Blyth and Tyne Railway. A Network Rail linewhich was freight-only between 1964 and 2024shares the alignment at this point. The National Rail station opened on 22 February 2026 as part of the Northumberland Line, creating a new interchange with the Metro network.
The station entrance is on Algernon Drive, with stairs and lifts providing access to both Metro and National Rail platforms.
The Northumberland line has been integrated into the Metro's fare system, allowing passengers to make through Metro/rail journeys using a Nexus Pop smartcard.
History
The interchange is located west of the site of the former railway station at , which was closed on 13 June 1977, to enable construction of the Tyne and Wear Metro. When the Metro opened in 1980, no station was provided at or near the former Backworth station site, and was the nearest Metro station.
Metro station
The station was used by 588,318 passengers in 2024/25. considerably lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 779,043 in 2017/18.
Facilities
The station has an island platform between the twin Metro tracks and is the only through island platform outside of the core section.
The station is equipped with ticket machines, a sheltered waiting area, seating, next train information displays, timetable posters, and an emergency help point. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit cards (including contactless payment), notes and coins. The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which are featured at all stations across the network.
Services , the station is served by up to five trains per hourin each directionon weekdays and Saturdays, and up to four trains per hour during the evening and on Sundays. In the eastbound direction, trains run to via . In the westbound direction, trains run to via . Additional services previously operated between and at peak times, but have recently been withdrawn, as a result of poor fleet availability.
National Rail station History
From December 2024, passenger rail services were introduced between Newcastle and Ashington, as part of the Northumberland Line project. The passenger service uses the existing single-track freight line which parallels the Tyne and Wear Metro line between Benton Junction and the site of Backworth Junction, to the east of Northumberland Park station.
A planning application for the new National Rail station was submitted to North Tyneside Council on 2 February 2021. The submitted planning documents indicate that the station will have a single platform, located on the north side of Network Rail track, which is designed to accommodate a four-car train. It will be provided with two waiting shelters and will be accessed from Algernon Drive via stairs and a lift. Approval for the new station was granted on 17 September 2021.
Northumberland Park's new National Rail station was constructed by the project's primary contractor, Morgan Sindall. The main construction phase began in 2022. The station opened on 22 February 2026, with passenger services having commenced on the line in December 2024, with trains passing through Northumberland Park without stopping until its opening.
Facilities The station has a single platform for the single National Rail track passing through the station.
The station is equipped with a ticket machine, sheltered waiting areas, seating, next train information displays, and an emergency help point. Ticket machines are able to accept payment with credit and debit card (including contactless payment), and will print 'promise to pay' tickets for cash users. The station is also fitted with smartcard validators, which are featured at all stations on the Northumberland Line.
Services , the station is served by two trains per hourin each directionon weekdays and Saturdays, and hourly during the evening and on Sundays. The end-to-end journey time between and is around 35 minutes. All services are operated by Northern Trains.
Shared facilities
The interchange serves as a park and ride with a multi-storey car park which has 393 spaces, plus 12 accessible spaces. There is also provision for cycle parking, with five cycle pods.
A small bus interchange with two stands is located at the station, which are served primarily by the 19 bus - providing onward connections in and around North Tyneside and south east Northumberland, Three more bus stops are located within walking distance.. There is also a small taxi rank located next to the bus stops.
References
Sources
External links
Timetable and station information for Northumberland Park from Travel North East
Map of the local area, showing bus stop locations