Island Line reopens

The railway on the Isle of Wight has reopened after a month-long closure.

Trains are now running twice an hour on the 8.5-mile, 24-minute route between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin.

But Ryde Pier will remain closed for major restoration work until May 2025, severing the rail link between the island and the ferry connection to Portsmouth.

A shuttle bus service along the road pier is offered instead.

New track has been laid through Ryde Esplanade station. New composite sleepers have been used, which Network Rail said are more resilient to the harsh weather on the seafront. It said the sleepers should last for at least 60 years.

The footbridge at Brading station has also been refurbished.

Neil Drury, engineering director at South Western Railway, said: “All of our focus now turns to continuing life extension work to the Ryde Pier structure which presents a unique and challenging environment for our engineers.

“We recognise closing this stretch of track between Ryde Pierhead and Ryde Esplanade will be disruptive to passengers. However, continuing this work is imperative for the continued safe and reliable running of Island Line services.”

By the end of this work, passengers will not have seen a regular and reliable service on Island Line for four years.

The whole route was closed for 10 months in 2021 for complete refurbishment, including track and signalling, with platform heights raised for newer Class 484 trains. The work had been scheduled for only three months.

SWR operates both track and trains on the island. But the pier remains the responsibility of Network Rail. Its entire refurbishment was promised in a three-month closure starting in late 2022, which was later extended to eight months. During that time, less than half the planned work was completed.

The intention is to secure the Victorian structure for another 60 years. Ryde Pier is the world’s oldest pleasure pier, with construction starting in 1813. But the parallel railway pier was added in 1880.