Island Line services between Ryde and Shanklin have resumed today (Monday) following a month-long closure of the railway whilst engineers completed a comprehensive programme of critical maintenance.
Over the past month, a wide range of important maintenance work has been jointly undertaken by Network Rail and South Western Railways (SWR). This has included:
- Laying 110m of new track through Ryde Esplanade station with composite sleepers which are more resilient to this coastal environment and will last for at least 60 years
- Installing around 48 new rail bearers over 65m from the end of Ryde Esplanade toward Ryde Pier Head and amending signalling to enable train services to resume running between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin
- Realigning the track through Ryde Esplanade station to reduce the gap between the train and platform, and renewing part of the track at Smallbrook Junction
- Replacing the bridge decks at both Park and Rink Road bridges, and bridge repairs in Sandown
- Renovations to the historic footbridge at Brading
Following the conclusion of this first of a two-part closure, train services have resumed running, operating every 30 minutes between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin. The first service was the 06.01 from Ryde Esplanade to Shanklin.
All attention now turns to continuing work to repair and preserve the historic Ryde Pier structure, which began in October 2022. The pier will remain closed to trains until it is expected to reopen in early May 2025, in time for the Summer holiday season.
During this time, in order to maintain connections with ferry services, a minibus shuttle service will operate between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade.
Tom McNamee, Network Rail Wessex Route Infrastructure Director, has said:
“We’re delighted to have completed an important programme of maintenance on the Island Line over the past month, alongside our SWR colleagues.
“All of our focus now turns to continuing life extension work to the Ryde Pier structure which presents a unique and challenging working 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.
Article continues below this advertisement “We’re committed to ensuring future generations of passengers can continue to benefit from this important railway on the Isle of Wight and we’d like to passengers, residents and businesses who for their patience and understanding during this time.”
Neil Drury, South Western Railway Engineering and Infrastructure Director, adds:
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience over the last month. The improvements and maintenance we have carried out alongside our colleagues at Network Rail will ensure that Island Line services can run long into the future”.
