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Tyne and Wear Metro Strike

The Challenge

On Thursday 8th June, 55,000 people had tickets to see Coldplay at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.  This date was also chosen by staff from the Tyne and Wear Metro to hold the first of a series of one day strikes over a pay dispute.

DB Regio, the operator of Tyne and Wear Metro sought help through their replacement contract to provide a service between Newcastle and The Stadium ensure that concert goers could still attend using public transport.  Network Creative was brought in to provide the planning aspect and to coordinate the implementation and operation of this unique service.

The Solution

DB Regio had asked a service to operate a frequent service between 1600 and 1930 from St James Park to the Stadium of Light.  This service was provided using a fleet of 20 double deck contracted by Classic Coaches and using their own vehicles supplemented with vehicles from Arriva and Garnetts Coaches.  A purpose built set down area was constructed at the Stadium and the service ran very well carrying about 1400 people to the concert.

The line up of buses outside St James Park

The line up of buses outside St James Park

The real challenge was the return, because the Stadium of Light has no public transport facilities and it was expected that up to 7000 would want to access the service back to Newcastle.  A bespoke bus station was built on the A1231 with 10 stands to allow rapid loading to clear the area as soon as possible.  55 double deckers were contracted, again using Classic, Arriva and Garnetts Coaches to provide this service.

All vehicles were in place before the concert ended and during the following hour, the service moved approximately 4000 people back to Newcastle.

The beginning of the purpose built bus station outside the Stadium of Light.

The beginning of the purpose built bus station outside the Stadium of Light. This was finished and operated in the dark –so no further photos were possible.

Conclusion

The service succeeded in enabling many people to attend the concert despite the strike and many compliments were made to the staff working on the night.