Tyneside chooses bus/rail system
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• Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority has decided in favour of a light rapid transit system in place of the existing diesel railway service on the North Tyne loop route between Newcastle and Tynemouth. The Authority considered various recommendations for the route including converting the line into a busway estimated to cost £13.9m, improving present bus services to carry existing rail traffic (£900,000), upgrading the rail service (£5.2m), and providing a light rapid transit system (£6.5m), and decided that the last named would be most suitable.
The subsidiary rail service on the north side of the Tyne known as the "riverside route", used only at peak hours, will be abandoned and replaced with buses. Many additional stations will be provided for the new system, and bus feeder services will operate to the various stations.
Annual operating costs for the light rail system are expected to be £5.6m compared with £5.9m for a busway, and £6m for an all-bus service. Dealing with the all-bus system, the Transport Executive said it had attractive short-term features, but low user benefit because of low average speeds. There would also be difficulty in operating in mixed traffic and circulating in central Newcastle. The Executive was not in favour of a busway system in view of the capital cost, the fact that it would be labour intensive which could lead to inflation and labour shortage, and increased congestion in the Newcastle area.