Major engineering works on the Island Line are now underway with the railway between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin closed for the next 3 months.
The improvement works are part of a £26million investment in the Island’s railway which includes the introduction of 5 brand new trains, a new passing loop at Brading and a whole host of on and off track enhancements.
The electricity was switched off at 23:30 last night just minutes after the last Class 483 trained left Ryde St John’s for the last time, quietly retiring into the depot sidings to a very small audience of train enthusiasts, as previously reported by Island Echo.
An hourly bus replacement service is now in operation in both directions with additional buses to be provided for school services. The journey between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin is scheduled to take around 35 minutes.
The new trains, which will continue to run on a third rail system, are refurbished former London Underground stock from 1978 – Vivarail Class 484. They will provide more capacity, better accessibility, passenger information systems and onboard wifi. A total of 5x 2-car trains have been ordered with the first 2 carriages arriving on the Island back in November 2020.
A new passing loop at Brading will allow the new trains, from May 2021, to run a 30-minute timetable meaning improved connectivity with cross-Solent sailings.
Ride quality is set to be improved greatly with the evening-out of sections of the track and there will be new facilities, such as ticket machines and wifi at stations along the line. Platforms are being adjusted for the new trains, which are higher than their 1938 predecessors.
Whilst the line is closed Island Roads will be undertaking works to the footbridges at Skew Bridge and Alresford Road in Shanklin. Both will be refurbished to ensure they are at the standards required by the Highways PFI contract.
The next 3 months of work is being hailed as the biggest upgrade to the network in over 50 years. The line will remain closed until 31st March 2021.
Proposed Island Line Upgrade Programme (issued September 2019)
| September 2019 | Island Line investment announcement made at Brading  |
| Late 2019-2020 | Build of new Vivarail Class 484 trains begins at Long Marston, Midlands |
| Late 2019 onwards | Design and planning work for Island Line infrastructure |
| April 2020 | Testing begins on first Class 484 Island Line unit |
| Spring 2020 | Wifi and Ticket Machines installed at stations |
| First Class 484 train arrives on the Isle of Wight for testing (delayed until November) |
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| More Class 484 trains arrive on the Isle of Wight (now expected Q1 2021) | |
| Winter 2020/2021 | Disruption during infrastructure works (Line closed Jan, Feb, Mar) |
| February 2021 | Final new Class 484 carriages delivered? |
| March 2021 | Last 1938 stock Island Line train officially decommissioned |
| May 2021 | Brand new timetable introduced with new trains |
This is fantastic. I’m looking forward to being able to use these safely. 🙂
I hope they install some ticket machines at Ryde st johns. At rush hour no time to buy a ticket from the Guard, he can’t get to everyone who wants one. I only travel to the mainland once or twice a month for work so a season ticket is no use.
I read that last year they moved over 220,000 passengers. But that was on a rail fan website. Be interested to know the real figures. Removes a lot of cars from the roads so a big help to the island. I would support extending the rail network. We need more public transport on the island. I would love not to need my car.
Didn’t they have ticket machine at Shanklin years ago, but kept breaking down,and guard were moaning it was doing them out of LOTS of monthly commission? I might be wrong about commission