(25 Apr 2021, 2:00 pm)mb134 wrote Aye, in fairness most of my comments have been in relation to folk dumping the bus for the train. I do imagine they are aiming for car drivers which, as I think you pointed out, could be smart for folk from Newbiggin, Ellington etc driving only to Bebside - but I wonder how many people would be willing to pay for a car and a train on top (let's face it, in a part of the world that isn't flush with cash). 

To me, and I'm sure there is rationale to the contrary, the idea of a Metro extension was always more attractive.

I've never quite understood the reasoning behind heavy rail vs metro. The immediate thing I can think of is infrastructure costs/implications.

I've said before that it doesn't have to be a whole bus vs train thing - even with those travelling from Blyth to the town. Getting off a bus at Haymarket or a train at Central Station is likely to be a choice based on the ultimate end destination. 
I also think it works in the other direction too, with the potential for new job opportunities opened up for those living on Tyneside, but able to commute via train and avoid key bottlenecks.

The potential for P&R type sites is an obvious one. However, buses feeding in to these stations is another option. It could be done like it is, at places like Alnmouth (just timed better) or further up in Scotland at places such as Leuchars where there's often an encouragment to make the modal switch via sensible ticketing arrangements and effective timetables.