Tony Ridley obituary (opens in new tab)

Tony Ridley, who has died aged 92, was known as the father of the Tyne and Wear Metro. A qualified civil engineer, his first major job was head of research in the highways department of the Greater London council (1965-70), but most of his career was in public transport and primarily in underground railways.After the Labour transport minister Barbara Castle’s 1968 Transport Act created passenger transport executives (PTEs) in the main conurbations outside London to “plan, coordinate and opera...