THE Tyne and Wear Metro is celebrating 35 years of service.

The Metro, which carries 38.1 million passenger journeys a year, opened on August 11, 1980, having been built between 1974 and 1980 at a cost of £280m.

Tunnels were driven beneath Newcastle and Gateshead, a new bridge over the Tyne was built and 90 trains were purchased.

The line was extended to South Shields in 1984 and Newcastle Airport in 1991.

The Sunderland line opened in 2002, costing £100m.

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes, who is responsible for transport on the North East Combined Authority, said: “Since its launch 35 years ago, the Tyne and Wear Metro has become an iconic part of our region’s identity and plays a critical role in getting hundreds of thousands of people to where they need to be every day.

“It helps drive our economy; getting commuters to work, shoppers to the shops, football fans to the match and it allows visitors and residents to enjoy our cultural attractions and night-time economy.

“It has the fastest growing passenger numbers outside of London which underlines the need for the recent refurbishment, and I am confident it will play a central part in the growth of our economy for many years to come.”

Metro is currently undergoing a £389m modernisation.