Runners and spectators attending the Great North Run are advised to leave plenty of extra time for their travel and to buy tickets in advance.
Nexus who own and operate Metro has revealed that last year's event saw its busiest Sunday of 2021, and to support the Great North Run this year, will introduce additional Metro services in order to help runners make their way to the start line and return home after. Nexus has also released its first-ever special Great North Run Rover ticket at just £6 and allows both runners and spectators the ability to travel on all Metro, bus and Shields Ferry services throughout the event on Sunday the 11th of September
This year's Great North Run will see it return to its regular route, commencing in Newcastle and ending at South Shields seafront.
Nexus is advising customers using trains that they will be extremely busy and will need to leave more time than usual and be prepared to wait in long queues.
South Shields Interchange will see crowd control in operation as runners and spectators head for the Metro following the event, some other stations will also see crowd control in place.
Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said:
“We are really looking forward to welcoming many thousands of runners and spectators on Metro for this year's Great North Run, which returns to its traditional finish in South Shields.
“We will have extra trains running all day to help people get to the start and then get home afterwards.
“Customers are advised to allow plenty of time to travel and expect queues at stations. There will be queue management in place at South Shields after the race as we look to get everyone home as quickly as we can.
“The Great North Run is our busiest Sunday of the year. We will carry in the region 100,000 customers across the day. Extra trains and extra staff are all deployed to ensure everything runs smoothly.”
“It's a fantastic day for North East England, getting global attention and raising millions of pounds for charity. We are proud that Metro and the Shields Ferry have such an important role to play.”
In order to avoid queuing to use ticket machines on the day, Metro customers are advised to purchase their Metro ticket ahead.
In order to aid the movement of passengers and to efficiently control crowds, Nexus will need to temporarily close the following stations as follows:
- Haymarket will see no entry into the station and will be exit only from 8.00am until 10.40am – please use Jesmond.
- Jesmond will be closed from 10.40am until the early afternoon – please use Haymarket.
- Manors will be closed from 10.40am until the early afternoon – please use Haymarket.
- Chichester will be closed from approximately 1.00pm until the early evening – please use South Shields.
There will be queuing for Metro trains at South Shields Interchange following the run and customers are advised to be prepared to wait. Customers with Metro tickets are asked to keep them to hand and those needing to purchase a ticket will be able to buy one via a member of the customer service team. Customers who wish to wait to travel and allow the queues to go down before returning will be able to find a good selection of cafes, restaurants and pubs in South Shields.
For further information, please visit: http://www.nexus.org.uk/greatnorthrun
