THOUSANDS of music fans are set to descend on Sunderland on Sunday (June 19) as Elton John plays the Stadium of Light.
Extra metro trains will be running to help concertgoers make their way to the music icon’s only North East gig.
Metro operator Nexus says it is expecting a busy evening and is providing extra trains before and after the event.
Those using the Metro are advised to leave plenty of time to get to Sunderland before the concert, and to use St Peter’s or Stadium of Light Metro stations afterwards, where extra staff and queue management will be in place.
The last train towards Newcastle leaves St Peter’s at 23:59pm, or Stadium of Light at 00:00am.
The last train to South Hylton will leave Stadium of light at 23:43pm, calling at St Peter’s at 23:45pm.
Metro Operations Director, John Alexander, said: “We have extra trains running on Sunday to help people get to and from the Elton John concert on what promises to be another fantastic night.
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“We are expecting a busy evening and customers are advised to leave plenty of time to get to the Stadium of Light.
“We have extra trains after the concert, and customers should go to either St Peter’s or Stadium of Light stations where we will be managing the queues and getting everyone on their way home quickly and safely.
“Our advice to concert goers is to purchase a £5.70 day ticket in advance. It is valid for the entire day, meaning you to avoid queuing at ticket machines after the concert. This is the best way to pay if you do not have Pop Pay As You Go card and want to buy a ticket in advance to save time on the day.
“This is another world class event for Sunderland, hot on the heels of the hugely successful Ed Sheeran concerts. With any event of this scale there are going to be queues at stations afterwards.
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“Our customer service teams will be working hard to get everyone on the move as fast as we can. I thank customers for their patience in advance.”
Around 30,000 fans are expected for the only North East gig on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Ed Sheeran played to over 60,000 fans at the Sunderland stadium on June 3 and 4, breaking a North East record for attendance.
Some Sheeran fans branded the service as ‘chaos’ after his first gig as they complained of two hour waits to board Metro trains.
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