Newcastle’s central railway station, opened in 1850, is one of the great early-Victorian termini and remains the main interchange between London, Edinburgh and the rest of the North East on the East Coast Main Line. Buses serve the city and the wider region from several interchanges rather than a single hub. The Tyne and Wear Metro, opened in 1980, was the first modern light rail system in the United Kingdom and connects the centre with the coast, the airport and the south bank of the river. The international airport sits north-west of the city and is reached directly by Metro in around twenty-five minutes. Within the centre itself, the historic street pattern has left a network of public squares that double as orientation points and meeting places.