Professor Dr Tony Ridley CBE, hailed as the man who masterminded the Tyne and Wear Metro and went on to run transport systems in Hong Kong and London, has died at the age of 92.
The civil engineer was director general of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) from 1968 to 1975 and was part of the team that devised the Metro system and oversaw the start of its construction in 1974.
Prof Ridley, originally from Sunderland, later became the first managing director of the Hong Kong Metro system and then on 1 September 1980 Tony was appointed Managing Director (Railways) at London Transport managed the London Underground but resigned in autumn 1988 following the publication of the Fennell Report into the Kings Cross fire in 1987.
