The former Monument Metro station ticket office in Newcastle, which has been disused for over a decade, is being transformed into a pop-up museum celebrating the history of the Tyne and Wear Metro. The old travel shop at Monument station closed in 2015 and has remained vacant despite previous attempts to convert it into a micropub.
From Micropub Plans to Museum
In 2019, plans to turn the ticket office into an underground micropub were approved, but the project fell through due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequent negotiations with another potential operator in 2021 also failed. Now, transport operator Nexus is converting the space into a temporary exhibit that will feature archive photographs dating back to the construction of the rail system in the 1970s, as well as images of its original trains and present-day operations.
Commemorating the Old Fleet
The pop-up museum comes shortly after the last remaining carriages from the Metro’s old fleet, known as the 599s, carried out their final scheduled passenger journeys last week. These trains are being retired as the transition to the new Stadler trains is completed this year. Nexus held a week of special commemorative runs for the old 599s, which saw huge public interest.
Sarah McCourt, Nexus’ head of communications and marketing, said: “We’ve just had a week of special commemorative runs for the old 599s which saw huge public interest. We recognise not everyone will have been able to get on board during that week and so came up with the idea of having a dedicated exhibition.”
Exhibit Details and Opening
The exhibit will feature archive photography of the Metro system over the years, from its construction phase to the present day. McCourt added: “We are adding the finishing touches to the project now and looking forward to opening to the public. A further announcement will be made soon regarding the dates and times that the public can pop in. It’s a fantastic project which has breathed new life into the vacant shop unit at Monument.”
The exact opening dates for the pop-up museum are yet to be confirmed, but Nexus expects to launch the exhibit in the near future.
