Monument Metro station
Tyne and Wear Metro station in Newcastle upon Tyne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monument is an underground Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the Monument area of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It opened on 15 November 1981, initially with only the north–south platforms in use. The east–west platforms opened a year later.
Newcastle upon Tyne
England
Monument  | ||||||||||||||||||
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Grey Street entrance, with the base of Grey's Monument visible | ||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Blackett Street, Monument, NE1[1] Newcastle upon Tyne England | |||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54.9736°N 1.6132°W | |||||||||||||||||
| OS Grid ref | NZ 248 644 | |||||||||||||||||
| System | Tyne and Wear Metro | |||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Nexus | |||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Underground | |||||||||||||||||
| Platform levels | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cycle facilities | 20 cycle racks (owned by Newcastle City Council)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Step-free access throughout, with lifts from street-level to platforms and level-boarding to Class 555 trains[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Staffed part-time[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Station code | MMT | |||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | A | |||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||
| Original company | Tyne and Wear Metro | |||||||||||||||||
| Key dates | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 November 1981 | Opened: platforms 1 & 2 (N-S) | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 November 1982 | Opened: platforms 3 & 4 (E-W) | |||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2020/21 |  1.257 million | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021/22 |  5.900 million | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022/23 | 7.390 million | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023/24 | 7.724 million | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024/25 | 8.119 million | |||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||
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The station is named after Grey's Monument, which stands directly above it.
It is the most-used station on the Metro network, with 8.119 million passengers in 2024/25,[2] – almost twice the number as the second-most-used station, Central Station – but still lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 9.530 million in 2018/19.
History
The station opened with services from the lower-level platforms (1 and 2) commencing on 15 November 1981, when the line was extended south from the temporary terminus at Haymarket to Heworth Interchange, as part of phase two of the network.
The remaining two platforms on the upper level (3 and 4) opened when services between Tynemouth and St James via Wallsend Interchange commenced on 14 November 1982, as part of phase four of the network.
During construction, it was discovered that the column of Grey's Monument – the 41 m (135 ft) statue, built in 1838, that sits above the station – had foundations less than 2 m (6 ft 7 in) deep. The engineers had to build better supports for the monument.[3][page needed]
Facilities
The ticket hall has a number of exits, including into the Fenwick department store, Eldon Square Shopping Centre, Blackett Street and Grey Street.
The ticket hall contains some shops, including a branch of Sainsbury's Local. The station previously housed a Nexus TravelShop, which closed in 2015.
Services
As of May 2026[update], platforms 1 and 2 are served by up to ten trains per hour – in each direction – on weekdays and Saturdays, and up to eight trains per hour each-way during the evening and on Sundays. Additional services operate between Pelaw and Monkseaton or Regent Centre at peak times.
Platforms 3 and 4 are served by up to five trains per hour – in each direction – on weekdays and Saturdays, and up to four trains per hour each-way during the evening and on Sundays.[1]
Layout
As of May 2026[update], it is one of only two stations in the world where the same line passes through the same station twice in a pretzel configuration; the other station using this layout is Voorweg on the RandstadRail network in The Hague, Netherlands. Similar layouts also existed on the Vancouver SkyTrain in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Commercial–Broadway between 2002 and 2016, and at Serdika and Serdika II on the Sofia Metro in Sofia, Bulgaria between 2012 and 2025.
Trains departing from platform 1 and platform 3 both state South Shields as their destination. However, trains from platform 3 must first complete an anti-clockwise circuit, running via Wallsend, Whitley Bay and South Gosforth. The journey time to South Shields is considerably longer if departing from platform 3 (82 minutes), than from platform 1 (28 minutes).
Artworks
The station features three art installations. Outside the station, a simple ventilation shaft has been disguised by Parsons Polygon.[4] Created by David Hamilton, in 1985, as a tribute to Sir Charles Parsons. It is made from clay and features abstract designs based on Parsons' engineering drawings.
Inside the Blackett Street entrance is a mural, Famous Faces, created in 1996 by Bob Olley.[5] It features a number of famous people from North East England, looking out of the window of a Metrocar. Maxïmo Park, who grew up in the area, mention the mural in their song By the Monument.
Circuit was installed in 2001. Created by Richard Cole, it features designs based on electronic circuit boards, that have been sand-blasted into the walls and paving of station entrances.[6]
Gallery
The station's Blackett Street entrance, situated adjacent to Grey's Monument.
Ventilation shaft disguised by the Parsons Polygon artwork.
A Metrocar bound for Newcastle Airport at platform 2.
The station concourse, photographed in August 2011.
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