The former British Rail stations on the Durham Coast Line at Felling and Pelaw were closed on 5 November 1979, in order to enable their conversion for use by the Tyne and Wear Metro. They were replaced by a new station at , opened on the same day. To give Metro trains dedicated infrastructure British Rail passenger trains services were subsequently diverted onto the previously freight-only relief lines which paralleled the passenger lines between Gateshead and Pelaw Junction. The Metro line between Haymarket and Heworth opened in November 1981, and as a result, the British Rail station at Gateshead was closed just one week later.