Prince of Wales rides the Tyne and Wear Metro

Prince Charles has taken a trip on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

It was part of a series of engagements in the North East today, where the Prince of Wales also visited Central Station in Newcastle - meeting LNER staff and representatives from the Changing Lives charity.

The heir to the throne took a short tour of the Metro network to mark the 40th anniversary of its Royal opening in 1981.

The prince followed in the footsteps of his mother and father, the Queen and Prince Philip, who visited Tyneside on November 6, 1981, to officially open Metro and dedicate the QEII Metro bridge over the River Tyne.

He met with staff at Central station, before riding 2 stops to Haymarket, on the same train his mother rode when she visited.

Chief Operating Officer of Nexus, Martin Kearney, was one of the people to talk to the Prince,

Mr Kearney said: “It was a huge honour to welcome His Royal Highness the Princ of Wales as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Metro’s Royal opening and recognise the outstanding efforts of our staff during lockdown.

“He was keen to hear about the challenges we faced due to Covid-19. I was honoured to introduce His Royal Highness to some of the employees who performed so heroically to keep public transport working right through lockdown, and for making our customers feel safe.

“I explained that Metro has recovered well from the impact of lockdown and that passenger numbers are back to 80% and we are encouraging more people to come back.

“The Royal visit was a great confidence boost for the whole public transport industry.

“The Prince was also keen to hear about Metro’s environmental credentials, taking 11 million car journeys off the road and being entirely powered from non-carbon sources.

“And of course there was a chance to tell him about Metro’s 40 years of operations, what an amazing success story it has become, and that the train he was travelling on was the same one that the Queen travelled on in 1981.”

Prince Charles is on a series of visits around the region today, including meeting Geordie star Cheryl, about her work with the Cheryl's Trust Centre in Newcastle and talking sustainability at the Barbour factory in South Shields.

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