In the period from 1975 coal extraction declined, and parts of the Blyth and Tyne system that were dependent on the mineral traffic suffered accordingly, and the passenger business too declined. At the end of the 1970s the decision was taken to establish a light rapid transit system, the Tyne and Wear Metro, based on the North Tyneside network at first, and this started operating in 1980, using part of the Blyth and Tyne routes. Most of the remainder of the former system has no passenger railway activity now, although much of it remains open for freight.