The Great North Run will be the busiest Sunday of the year for the Tyne and Wear Metro, who have put in measures to ensure a good service is provided for customers as thousands of runners and spectators are expected to take part in or support the popular event.

Runners and spectators are recommended to allow for longer journey times and also to purchase special wristband tickets well ahead. 

The extra services will run every three minutes through the centre of Newcastle until the early evening in a bid to support people arriving for the start of the run and also getting them home following the event or linking them to park and ride sites.

Information is available for those travelling on the day at http://www.nexus.org.uk/metro/greatnorthrun.

To avoid queuing at ticket machines on the day, Metro is advising customers to buy a Metro ticket in advance with a Great North Run wristband being the best available option, and can be purchased online by visiting the Nexus website, which will be available to buy until 9 am on Monday the 6th of September 2021.

Metro teams will be available to keep customers up to date with information on expected waiting times and also to sell tickets to people in the queue.

The closest station to the start line which is on Newcastle’s Central Motorway is Haymarket, and will be ‘exit only’ throughout the morning to maintain an efficient flow of runners who have staggered start times which range from 9.40 am to 1 pm. 

As runners begin to finish the run at Haymarket after 1 pm, both Jesmond and St. James Stations will be open with customer service teams available to keep queues in good order and also to sell tickets.

Monument station will be closed for the full day as a crowd control measure, as the station’s entrances are on the route of the run.

West Jesmond and Ilford Road Stations will also be closed for the full day as staff will be supporting queues at nearby stations.

Spectators are advised to choose a single location to watch the run either at the start or finish locations on either side of the Town Moor or at halfway point, as trains will be extremely busy for the full day.

To plan journeys ahead contact Nexus on 0191 20 20 747 or use the Nexus live travel map at https://livemap.nexus.org.uk/#/liveDepartures

Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director for Metro operator Nexus, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming Great North Run participants and spectators back to metro for this year’s event. It is a different route this year, but Metro is perfectly placed to support the Run with stations in Newcastle city centre and around the Town Moor linking with our whole region.

“With wrist band tickets available in advance and PaybyPhone parking at our major car parks we’re making it easy to enjoy the Great North Run by Metro. We will be operating extra trains throughout the day and have extra teams and volunteers across our stations to look after customers.”