 The former railway station at South Shields, located on Mile End Road, opened in 1879, under the North Eastern Railway – later becoming part of the "Tyneside Electrics" network.It closed for conversion in June 1981, ahead of opening as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro network.Conversion work saw the station re-located about from the former British Rail station, with the construction of a new station on a bridge over King Street.