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transportation

The transport infrastructure across the North East of England is excellent. There are two major airports covering the North and South of the region, with Newcastle International Airport a short drive from the regional capital.

The main east coast train line connects Tyne and Wear to London, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. In addition there is the main A1 road network connecting London and Scotland, along with excellent ferry connections to Europe.

Air

Newcastle International is the region’s premier airport and provides extensive links to destinations worldwide. The airport has experienced a period of remarkable growth and development in recent years and now ranks as the tenth busiest airport in the UK, with passenger numbers forecast to hit 5.6 million in 2006.

The airport’s catchment area includes the North East of England – with five million people living within a two-hour drive of the airport – and also extends to Scotland, Cumbria and Yorkshire.

Newcastle International recognises the needs of business travellers who require frequent direct links to business hotspots across Europe. With regular flights to Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Dusseldorf, the region’s booming businesses have unparalleled transport services straight to the heart of Europe’s trade and commerce hubs. There are 19 flights a day to London, including the fastest journey time to the capital from the region at 85 minutes.

The airport also boasts scheduled services linking the region to over 30 international destinations and has ambitious plans to add further European and long haul routes to its departures board. Significant investment in recent years has also delivered an outstanding new terminal building with first-rate passenger facilities – further affirmation of its emerging position as one of the most successful regional airports in Europe.

Air Freight

The wide range of industries located in the region has created a clear need for excellent airfreight links. Newcastle Airport has quickly responded by building an international ‘Freight Village’.

Newcastle Airport can offer cargo capacity on direct flights to Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast, Bristol, Brussels, Dublin, London, Paris, Southampton and Stavanger. In addition to direct flights it offers a range of airline truck services to East Midlands, London and Manchester for connections worldwide.

Rail

For business people who need to be in London for an early morning meeting there is a service leaving Newcastle at 06.00am arriving in the capital at 8.58am.  The East Coast Main Line and other direct routes from the region connect Newcastle with many major UK cities quickly and conveniently including London, Edinburgh, Leeds, York and Manchester.

Ports

There are five major ports in the area, these are:

• Port of Tyne
• Port of Sunderland
• Tees and Hartlepool Port
• Seaham Harbour
• Port of Blyth

The two largest ports in the region are the Port of Tyne and Tees and Hartlepool.  Both of these can handle large ships and have superior cargo-handling facilities and large hinterlands.

The all weather Port of Tyne has enjoyed massive investment in recent years and everything from prawns to electronics is now shipped through the Tyne. It offers roll on/roll off facilities capable of handling up to 400-ton loads. It also provides deepwater river berths and a flexible single port distribution hub that is flexible enough to meet individual customer requirements. The port also has customs approved warehousing and open storage, dual carriageway access to the A19 and A1 (M) and a new rail distribution service.

Port of Tyne is well equipped to handle general and project cargo, it has a flexible and fully trained workforce, over 7.5 hectares of modern, purpose built customs approved warehousing and over 23 hectares of open storage situated within the secure port estate. It has a stock control and administration function integral to the materials handling operation. There is also specialist ancillary handling equipment for ship work and associated operations.

The port also offers quality offshore and marine services including a modern ship repair yard. There is an international passenger terminal at the port with regular services to Scandinavia and North West Europe through Rotterdam. The car terminal at Port of Tyne is considered the most versatile and efficient handling terminal in Europe. The rail distribution channel was built to very high standards and is located next to the deepwater quay.

With an established reputation for handling steel and metal products the port is well positioned to handle bulk imports. Port of Tyne also offers container services, and the secure 5.5-hectare customs approved container terminal has a capacity of 2500 TEU serviced by comprehensive handling equipment and supported by computer-controlled dispatch and handling systems.

Nearby Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority – approximately 35 miles south – operates its own cargo handling facilities, is a substantial landowner and has several subsidiary companies involved in offshore support, warehousing and distribution.

Road

There are excellent transport links from Tyne and Wear. London is under 5 hours by road.

There are two main arterial routes running from the North East to some of the major centres of population in the UK – the A1 (M) and the A19 provide direct links to Leeds, Edinburgh and London.

There are also good east-west routes running from Newcastle to Carlisle providing links to the west of the country.

These links also mean freight can travel to major European destinations within 48 hours, and in many cases within 24 hours.

Public Transport

The public transport network in Tyne and Wear is one of the largest and most effective in the UK, providing access to work, leisure and public service to around 1.6 million people. The service combines the award-winning Metro lightrail system with park and ride facilities, a comprehensive bus network, rail and the Tyne ferry.

The Tyne and Wear Metro is the backbone of the area's public transport network, carrying more than 100,000 passengers every day. It links the two major urban centres of Sunderland and Newcastle in less than 30 minutes.

Metro also provides the shortest link of its kind between a UK city centre and its airport, with services from Newcastle International Airport taking just 20 minutes to reach the city centre. From Newcastle the coast is only 30 minutes away by Metro.  Services run every three minutes from Newcastle city centre in peak times.

Tyne and Wear benefits from efficient and reliable bus services provided by fleets of modern vehicles. These are centred on a network of Superoutes providing enhanced service along key commuter corridors. Buses run on dedicated routes to principal business locations, linking the Metro with the MetroCentre retail complex in Gateshead and with the Cobalt and Quorum business parks in North Tyneside.

Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Transport Executive, operates Metro and can provide details on all public transport at www.nexus.org.uk.