Plaque unveiled in memory Metro ‘pioneer’ Tony Ridley 

Prof Ridley, who was originally from Sunderland, was the main driver of the Metro project in its early years, and without his leadership it may never have come to fruition.  

He died in March, aged 92.  

The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony at Central Metro station in Newcastle today, Friday 16 October, which was attended by members of his family.  

As a respected civil engineer, Ridley was Director General of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE), now known as Nexus, from 1968 to 1975. 

He was part of a team of visionary planners who devised the Metro system. He oversaw the planning process, the award of funding, and the first year of construction work in 1974. 

Metro operator Nexus said that Ridley had played a pivotal role in Metro’s success story.  

Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus, said: “It is an enormous honour for us to remember Professor Tony Ridley with this commemorative plaque at Central Station.  

“He made an extraordinary contribution to transport across his career. He took Tyne and Wear Metro from an idea into a reality.  

“He paved the way for a system that revolutionised local public transport in North East England. 

“Tony and his team came up with the idea of taking decaying rail lines and linking them using city centre tunnels and a bridge over the River Tyne, which is the Metro system that we know so well today.  

“His work as Director General cannot be understated. Tony famously quipped that we’d ‘never get away with building a Metro system,’ but thanks to his skill and determination that is exactly what did happen.”  

Prof Ridley left the Tyne and Wear PTE in 1975 to become the first managing director of the Hong Kong Metro system. He went on to manage the London Underground. 

He later became President of the Institution of Civil Engineers and an Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London.