A class 484 on the first day paying customers were allowed to use the service back in November 2021Promises of a 30-minute timetable on the Island Line look further than away ever, some 3.5 years after the current fleet of Class 484 trains entered service. It was back in September 2019, during an event at Brading Station, that the £25million Island Line investment was announced by South Western Railway (SWR). It was hoped that come May 2021 a more ‘punctual and reliable’ service would be introduced, but that has not been the case. The 5x 2-car trains that entered service in November 2021 – due to operational delays – were converted from London Underground D78 stock that dates from the early 1980s, replacing Class 483s that dated from 1938. The new trains were marketed as effectively ‘brand new units boasting all the modern technology’. Fast forward to 2024 though – just over 3 years since their introduction – it is now understood that the trains are rattling through wheels at an alarming rate, due to problems with the track infrastructure here on the Island, and that issues sourcing parts – due to the administration woes of supplier Vivarail – has resorted to Island Line bosses shopping for parts at the scrap heap. These problems have resulted in 1 of the fleet already being ‘decommissioned’, following an update from SWR back in January explaining the current status of just 4 of the 5 Class 484s. Only 2 of which are ever running simultaneously during specific months of the year. For contrast when the Class 483s left service back in 2021 a total of 3 trains were operational. A 1 train an hour service is currently in operation between Shanklin and Ryde Pier Head so that SWR can run a 2-train service during the busier summer months, as previously reported by Island Echo. Services are expected to once again be temporarily halted between Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier Head in the Autumn due to works set to be undertaken on the pier, despite work to renovate the historic structure only being ‘completed’ back in Spring 2023. Watch the Island Line announcement from back in 2019 below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWRIPc7USgU&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.islandecho.co.uk%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
We don’t have a railway, we have a strange hybrid of scrapheap and building site.
Any service that actually runs is purely unintentional and swiftly corrected before anyone gets the crazy idea of trying to use it.
ExtraD
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2 years ago
Crumbling infrastructure? Lmao, trains are a mugs game, the smart money is in charities, slaves *cough* volunteers, people donating free stuff, and tax exemptions.
Catherine Johnson
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2 years ago
Maybe it’s time to call it a day and turn it into a footpath/cycleway?
Or, alternatively, ask the steam train people if they want to run it?
Davis Bryant
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2 years ago
“Rattling through wheels at an alarming rate”. That would explain the squeaking and squealing sounds the trains made since day one.
John
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2 years ago
The old train was much more reliable than the new one.
A Ha
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2 years ago
Island Lines are part of South Western Railway (SWR) who during COVID conceded control to the Department For Transport (DFT) so they could be bailed out by the taxpayer.
– Don’t be fooled into blaming railway employees for the shortcomings of management (puppets) and politicians (puppet masters).
karen
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2 years ago
Nationalisation coming soon, joined up thinking.
The contract with SWR ends in May 2025 and will not be renewed under new government.
And before the squeaking begins it’s already been done in six other rail companies across UK and is working fine (much to the Tories disgust).
When you could buy a single through ticket to anywhere in the country at a fixed price, you mean?
And why the reliability wasn’t great, it was certainly no worse than it is now, and we didn’t have shareholders creaming off money that should have been reinvested.
And as most of those shareholders are foreign, that’s money lost to the country and certainly doesn’t go into UK pension pots.
I haven’t been on a train in donkey’s years, but as those two were the most recent acquisitions it will take some time to sort out the mess they were left in. The others seem to be doing ok though….given where they were at takeover.
bobthebuilder
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2 years ago
Look at my previous rant..everything is broken not fit for purpose,millions spent on crap..take take take ..give NOTHING back..brilliant country 2024 ..great then labour in ..even better.
Joe Bloggs
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2 years ago
This is what happens when you buy a load of trains from a cheap jack firm. Wales has had the same problem with trains they purchased from this firm which, thank heavens , has now gone out of business.
Joe Bloggs
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2 years ago
They have some of the old ones in London Transport museum.
Bram Stoker
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2 years ago
Driving a train on the island has got to be the most well paid job for the amount of work you do in the uk!
Willow A
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2 years ago
I’d say get the Japanese and the German workmen in and see the difference in the roads and rail in no time . They have the expertise and knowledge and work hard something a lot of the British now have lost sight of.
Look at the infrastructure in their countries, puts us to same
Robertgmam
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2 years ago
How difficult can it be to reprofile the wheels on a mere five two-car units? All you need is a wheel lathe and someone old enough to know how to use it.
We don’t have a railway, we have a strange hybrid of scrapheap and building site.
Any service that actually runs is purely unintentional and swiftly corrected before anyone gets the crazy idea of trying to use it.
Crumbling infrastructure? Lmao, trains are a mugs game, the smart money is in charities, slaves *cough* volunteers, people donating free stuff, and tax exemptions.
Maybe it’s time to call it a day and turn it into a footpath/cycleway?
Or, alternatively, ask the steam train people if they want to run it?
“Rattling through wheels at an alarming rate”. That would explain the squeaking and squealing sounds the trains made since day one.
The old train was much more reliable than the new one.
Island Lines are part of South Western Railway (SWR) who during COVID conceded control to the Department For Transport (DFT) so they could be bailed out by the taxpayer.
– Don’t be fooled into blaming railway employees for the shortcomings of management (puppets) and politicians (puppet masters).
Nationalisation coming soon, joined up thinking.
The contract with SWR ends in May 2025 and will not be renewed under new government.
And before the squeaking begins it’s already been done in six other rail companies across UK and is working fine (much to the Tories disgust).
Do you not remember British Rail?
When you could buy a single through ticket to anywhere in the country at a fixed price, you mean?
And why the reliability wasn’t great, it was certainly no worse than it is now, and we didn’t have shareholders creaming off money that should have been reinvested.
And as most of those shareholders are foreign, that’s money lost to the country and certainly doesn’t go into UK pension pots.
Christ, you almost sound like me. Careful there!
You obviously have not travelled on South Eastern or Northern recently!
I haven’t been on a train in donkey’s years, but as those two were the most recent acquisitions it will take some time to sort out the mess they were left in. The others seem to be doing ok though….given where they were at takeover.
Look at my previous rant..everything is broken not fit for purpose,millions spent on crap..take take take ..give NOTHING back..brilliant country 2024 ..great then labour in ..even better.
This is what happens when you buy a load of trains from a cheap jack firm. Wales has had the same problem with trains they purchased from this firm which, thank heavens , has now gone out of business.
They have some of the old ones in London Transport museum.
Driving a train on the island has got to be the most well paid job for the amount of work you do in the uk!
I’d say get the Japanese and the German workmen in and see the difference in the roads and rail in no time . They have the expertise and knowledge and work hard something a lot of the British now have lost sight of.
Look at the infrastructure in their countries, puts us to same
How difficult can it be to reprofile the wheels on a mere five two-car units? All you need is a wheel lathe and someone old enough to know how to use it.