A short promotional film made by Turners Film and Video Productions with narration by Michael Rodd. Made for the Tyne and Wear Transport Executive shortly before the opening of the Tyne and Wear Metro system the film explaining the need for as well as construction and operation of the new Tyne and Wear Metro integrated transport systems. The film begins with passengers getting aboard a new Tyne and Wear Metro car which will speed them into and out of the congested central areas of Newcastle...

A short promotional film made by Turners Film and Video Productions with narration by Michael Rodd. Made for the Tyne and Wear Transport Executive shortly before the opening of the Tyne and Wear Metro system the film explaining the need for as well as construction and operation of the new Tyne and Wear Metro integrated transport systems. The film begins with passengers getting aboard a new Tyne and Wear Metro car which will speed them into and out of the congested central areas of Newcastle and Gateshead linking them with bus routes for other journeys. Heavy road traffic through Newcastle shows the need for a new transport system. A commuter diesel train pulls into Tynemouth Railway Station, but this form of train doesn’t take passengers where they wanted to go. Outside Eldon Square on Blackett Street a long queue waits to get onto a Tyne and Wear Transport yellow and white double-decker bus. The film cuts to Munich in Germany and passengers using the cities integrated transport system similar to the one needed on Tyneside. A map of Tyne and Wear shows the traditional rail routes both north and south of the River Tyne. A metro car travels along a track which is free and independent of road traffic. A hand opens and flicks through a copy of the Tyneside Metropolitan Railway Act 1973, a Parliamentary act to begin work on the system financed by Tyne and Wear County Council with assistance from government grants. Major civil engineering work begins with views of construction work around the new Metro Monument Station in the centre of Newcastle. Underneath Monument engineers work to dig out the cross-road where the four main routes will converge. There are views of construction at St James Station at St James Park and Central Station. At Gateshead a major new Metro and bus station is under construction. The Metro Bridge across the River Tyne is partially completed. Views follow of the concrete Byker Viaduct. Men work to electrify overhead lines along traditional rail routes. An empty Tynemouth Railway station changes to show a Raillink bus which is being used to help reduce disruption to commuters during construction. Outside the central area a view from the driver’s cabin as a Metro car comes into a station where passengers wait. New stations, such as this one, have been built at Illford Road, Shiremoor, Fordham and Bankfoot. Along the banks of the River Tyne large cranes dominate the skyline around the shipyards and factories. Transport interchanges at Four Lanes End, Regent Centre and Heworth. People arrive at the station on foot, by car or by bus. Good access for the disabled is shown with a man pushing a wheelchair down a ramp onto the platform. At the Metro Test Station, a new car is tested for safety on a purpose built track. The system will initially have ninety 84 seat cars. At a station a passenger operates the door and exits the vehicle. At the new control room at South Gosforth trains and the supply of electricity are controlled while CCTV camera’s and a public address system watch over stations. New safety features in Metro cars include automatic breaking if the driver, seen at the controls of a train, releases the dead-mans-handle. As the car passes through a tunnel and past a set of lights the narrator explains that Metro cars will break automatically should they pass a red light. The new Tyne and Wear Metro will open in three stages and there are views of the new Illford Land Metro Station nearing completion. A double decker bus travels along the Great North Road and pedestrians walk along Northumberland Street near to the entrance to Eldon Square. Buses come in and out of the bus station at Eldon Square Double decker and single decker buses travel along bus routes. Passengers make their way onto a Metro platform. A train arrives and passengers get on board taking their seats. As the train pulls out of the station passengers chat and look out of the windows. The film ends with the Metro car travelling along the track and under a bridge. Title: Metro-The Way Ahead End Credit: Tyne and Wear Transport End Credit: Turners Film and Video Productions