ISLAND LINE BACK UP AND RUNNING – BUT NOT TO RYDE ESPLANADE

South Western Railway has confirmed that Island Line is back up and running after last week’s storms, but is not serving Ryde Esplanade or Ryde Pier Head. Flooding in Ryde led to the tunnel between St John’s and the Esplanade becoming submerged – flood water completely filled the tunnel and started overlapping onto the road. Now, following a week-long suspension of service, Island Line trains are operating between Ryde St John’s and Shanklin on a once-per-hour basis for today and tomorrow, with a view to returning to a 2-trains-per-hour service on Friday. It is unclear when exactly trains will resume to the Esplanade and Pier Head, but it is expected to be within the coming days or weeks. A rail replacement bus service continues to run between Ryde Esplanade and Ryde St John’s. Storm Ciaran is set to hit overnight tonight, so it remains to be seen if Island Line will still be able to operate tomorrow.