Island Line services have been suspended this afternoon (Monday) as a result of a fault with the only train running on the network.
South Western Railway has confirmed that no trains are currently operating between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin. Disruption is expected to last for the rest of the day.
The news comes just before children leave school for Monday, many of which use the East Wight train service to get home.
Today’s suspension of service is the latest issue to hit Island Line. There are just 2 trains normally available for service on the network, but 1 has been out of action since September. The entire service is now reliant on the last remaining train – which is over 80 years old – but that keeps breaking down.
Disruption on the network is expected to continue until at least 18th November, as previously reported by Island Echo.
Island Line’s new trains are not due to begin operations until 2021.
UPDATE TUESDAY @ 05:55 – Island Line trains remain suspended this morning, it has been confirmed.
As it stands, disruption is expected until the end of the day meaning it is unlikely that a service will operate before Wednesday.
UPDATE @ 07:20 – A train is once again running on Island Line between Ryde and Shanklin.
An hourly service is back in operation.
Maybe Island Line should take a look at Alderney’s railway.
They are reliably running old tube stock, too, though theirs is only 60 years old!
They do pull them with an old diesel shunter,
Maybe even put some railway wheels on a farm tractor? !!
It would please the tourists, too.
The clearance in the tunnel x tractors wouldn’t work because of it but ur right about a diesel loco they used to have one back in nse days for works don’t know where it’s gone now
This is starting to sound very suspicious. Has a worker been mistreated or have a grievance. This is causing a lot of problems for both the passengers now.
What again about time something is done about it kids are being left stranded after school
they aren’t stranded, they can get the bus that is being laid on, just like last time.
stranded gives the impression of never seeing home again – keep it real eh.
Well said
My 14 yr old daughter was very definitely stranded. None of the buses would accept her train pass and she had no money on her….. she managed to borrow a few pound from a relative who (luckily) was home . But she’s didn’t arrive home until almost 5 pm!
I got stranded until 7pm as my mum didn’t finish work till 6.30pm and the bus wouldn’t accept my train pass and I have no money on me
IF this is true then it is disgusting with all the ‘care in the community’ odd balls, and of course third world immigrants now lurking around our towns.
There ought to be an official complaint put in.
@maddie and teri,
perhaps you should take that up with Island line, as their contingency plan is that Southern Vectis will accept train passes in these circumstances – or at least they used to.
When the fastcat is cancelled – courtesy buses are provided to and from the car ferry terminal at fishbourne.
My son was the same, got home just before 5pm and the bus wouldn’t accept his train ticket.
YES they r been stranding !!!!!
And NO the buses wouldnt let kids on there buses yesterday with there train ticket After school when the trains wasn’t running disgraceful on them
My grandson was one of them along with 2 other kids .
This is a disgraceful !!
Keep it real – like your name eh?
Seems we need the new trains sooner
All the more reason for the Vivarail class 484 D-Trains to enter service on Island Line from next year rather than as from 2021 as this is now becoming an embarrassing joke for Island Line – fair play to the Island Line team of engineers and fitters at Ryde Depot they do their best with what they have available but the way things are with the existing fleet of class 483 units they are falling apart big-time. If Southern Vectis have gone into the 21st century with their newest fleet of buses featuring USB sockets and Wi-Fi access it is high time the Island Line did too.
I wouldn’t want a Vivarail train on the Island for all the tea in china. They seem to be no more reliable than what we currently have. They are basically 40 year old sub-surface tube stock. The original demonstration unit has a large fire in one of it’s gen sets, and according to this weeks Rail magazine, those running on the Marston Vale line, are continually having wiring faults, without enough spares on hand to give a reliable service. The island deserves better than more continual hand me downs. Besides, thanks to little investment from Network Rail in the infrastructure, track bed and power supply etc, we will never have a dependable service. With Southern Vectis in the early years of bus privatisation, running any competitors off the road to have a monopoly, fares on the busses remain artificially high, we might as well give up on public transport. Oh and don’t get me started on the ferries, with S*ite link & Hover travel who can’t run in more than a puff of breeze.
Why didn’t the buses except the kids train passes? Weren’t they told the trains were out? Disgraceful! They need to give a statement as to why they weren’t excepting train passes!
@theresa
it is disgusting – children travelling home from school should not be told by adults working anywhere that they cannot continue their journey home. Hardly any of them have any money on them. It causes the kids to worry and the parents to fear the worst almost immediately if they haven’t got a working phone either.
Wightlink bus everyone to the car ferry, if the fastcats stop.
Hovertravel pay for all their customers to travel on the fastcat if both their Hovercraft cannot run because of technical reasons.
Hovertravel provide tickets for their child annual season card holders to travel on wightlink, if they are cancelled due to weather.
(only applies to their child annual card though – no other card or ticket holders)
Southern vectis get a replacement bus in, if the school bus breaks down.
Red funnel get everyone to the car ferry if the red jet stops.
So what are island line doing to ensure that all their customers can make their journey home, when the service is cancelled due to technical reasons.
The parents have shelled out for their childs ticket and no service has been provided and no contingency in place or some other form of compensation for non delivery of the service.
They need to address this issue, communicate it and ensure that in the event of technical issues, their customers can board replacement buses and travel to their destination with minimal fuss.
Haven’t Vivarail got 1 Suitable train to loan Island Line or is maybe a diesel locomotive not an option in the interim period. I’m sure many people will tell me why not.
I wouldn’t want a Vivarail train on the Island for all the tea in china. They seem to be no more reliable than what we currently have. They are basically 40 year old sub-surface tube stock. The original demonstration unit has a large fire in one of it’s gen sets, and according to this weeks Rail magazine, those running on the Marston Vale line, are continually having wiring faults, without enough spares on hand to give a reliable service. The island deserves better than more continual hand me downs. Besides, thanks to little investment from Network Rail in the infrastructure, track bed and power supply etc, we will never have a dependable service. With Southern Vectis in the early years of bus privatisation, running any competitors off the road to have a monopoly, fares on the busses remain artificially high, we might as well give up on public transport. Oh and don’t get me started on the ferries, with S*ite link & Hover travel who can’t run in more than a puff of breeze.
Maybe they will get two trains working in time for the crews to go on strike for most of December….
Who says there are going on strike Anybody told you
I’m a taxi operator and have to pay £300 to South Western trains every year to be allowed the privilege of using the taxi rank at Shanklin station , I don’t suppose the train company will reduce my cost..
Clare I’d guess you are busier when the trains are suspended and you still want to moan.
It’s winter and it’s very quiet in November, most people are saving for the cost of Christmas.
The £300 cost is due this month and it’s a lot of fares to mack up, it usually takes around 6 months to get that back.
Believe me it’s not nice sitting on a rank for hours doing nothing, most of the time the buses suck up our fares and I bet southern Vectis don’t pay a penny.
I’m just pointing out that south Western should lower the cost when the service is unreliable.
Maybe they should run into Newport again. Instead of running into the ground
Maybe they should ‘give’ the line to Havenstreet railway and change it all to steam. Sure it would cost a lot to alter, but would be a great money tourist attraction for the rest of time.
Yet the snowflakes would moan that their charity kept kids had asthma etc.