The shields ferry makes a rare trip to the newcastle quayside

The Shields Ferry made a rare trip up to the Newcastle Quayside this morning. Anyone walking along the riverside around 11.35am on Tuesday, June 3, will have seen the Millennium Bridge

opening to allow the Spirit of the Tyne to pass through on its journey up the river. It was the first time that the Shields Ferry has travelled so far up the Tyne since 2018. But those

hoping that the sight of the ferry on the Quayside might be a tantalising preview of a new boat service will be left disappointed. Tuesday’s trip was a training event run by operator Nexus,

which also runs the Tyne and Wear Metro, to familiarise new recruits with the vessel. The ferry travelled under the Millennium Bridge and stopped in front of the Glasshouse International

Centre for Music for photos to be taken with the Tyne Bridge in the background, before turning around and heading back to South Shields. North East mayor Kim McGuinness spoke favourably last

year about the idea of an enhanced ferry network connecting communities between places like Tynemouth, South Shields, Hebburn, Walker, Ouseburn and the Quayside. But the Local Democracy

Reporting Service understands that, while regional transport chiefs are open to the prospect in future, there are currently no active plans being pursued to establish a new Tyne clipper

service. The focus has been on securing the future of the existing Shields Ferry route, with a funding package having been finalised in March this year to build a new landing for the ferry

next to the North Shields Fish Quay. There had been warnings for several years that the service’s future was in danger as a result of the deteriorating condition of its existing north jetty,

with anxiety growing after previous funding for the project was lost and a Levelling Up Fund bid rejected. However, a £12.8 million pot has now been secured to build the new landing – using

money from the North East’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) allocation and unspent money left over from the dualling of the Metro tracks between Pelaw and South

Shields. Ms McGuinness has pledged that the new landing will be completed by 2027.