Island Line, Isle of Wight
The Island Line is a railway line on the Isle of Wight, running from to on the Island's east coast. The line was electrified in 1967. Trains connect with passenger ferries to at, and these ferries in turn connect with the rest of the National Rail network via the Portsmouth Direct Line. The line also connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a steam-operated heritage railway at. For much of its length the line runs alongside the A3055, criss-crossing this road by means of the Ryde Tunnel and bridges at Rowborough, Morton Common, Lake Hill and Littlestairs.
History
The line from to was opened on 23 August 1864, having been built by the Isle of Wight Railway. In 1866 the line was extended through to. The line was originally built as single track throughout, with passing loops provided at Brading, Sandown and Shanklin stations.In 1880 the London and South Western Railway and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway opened a jointly-owned line north from Ryde St John's Road. Under the direction of LBSCR Chief Engineer Frederick Banister, the building of the extension included a new tunnel and a third Ryde Pier to enable the line to reach, which provided a connection with the companies' ferry services. When the LBSC/LSWR joint line opened, it was as a double track section from Ryde St John's Road station through to Ryde Pier Head. There was a scissors crossover situated on Ryde Pier to allow trains to access all platforms. Sets of crossovers were installed at St John's Road to enable trains to change from the joint line's left-hand running to the single-track sections on the Isle of Wight Central Railway's Newport line and the Isle of Wight Railway's Shanklin line.
Southern Railway
Following the Railways Act 1921, the Island Line and the other railways on the Isle of Wight became part of the Southern Railway. In 1926, crossovers and a signalbox were installed at Smallbrook Junction to extend double track operation from St John's Road. However, the signalbox was used only in the summer when traffic levels were high. In winter, the two lines from Smallbrook to St. John's Road reverted to independent single track operation.In 1927, the passing loops at Brading and Sandown were connected to form a second section of double track.
British Rail (1948–96)
In 1948, the Southern Railway was nationalised, as part of British Railways, later British Rail. The line from Shanklin to Ventnor closed in April 1966. Steam trains were withdrawn from Ryde Pier on 17 September, and the whole line on 31 December 1966. While the line was closed, the trackbed in Ryde Tunnel was raised to reduce flooding and decrease gradients, the rebuilding of Ryde Pier Head station was completed and Ryde Esplanade station was also substantially modified. The line reopened in March 1967 following its electrification. In the 1980s, British Rail was sectorised and the line became part of the Network SouthEast sector. Services on the line were branded as Ryde Rail.British Rail opened two new stations on the line. Lake station opened in 1987. Smallbrook Junction station opened in 1991, in co-operation with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
The double track between Sandown and Brading, along with the Brading passing loop, were removed in 1988. In 1989 the passenger service was branded as Island Line for the first time, as the name and logo was included on the "new" Class 483 trains' livery. However, this rebranding did not officially occur until 1994.
Island Line franchise (1996–2007)
Following the privatisation of British Rail, the rights to run services on the line were put out to tender as a franchise. Uniquely on the National Rail network, the franchise agreement also required the successful bidder to maintain the railway line in addition to the stations and trains. Stagecoach Group were announced as the winner of the franchise and from October 1996 they operated passenger services under the name Island Line Trains.In 2002 a form of Automatic Train Protection was installed on the line. This involved the refitting of tripcocks on trains and the associated train stop trackside equipment at signals. This system is almost identical to the one originally fitted to the trains when in service on the London Underground, although it is in use only at signals protecting single-track sections of the route.
The Department for Transport designated the line as a community railway in March 2006, under reforms to help boost use of rural and branch lines in the UK rail network.
South West Trains franchise (2007–2017)
From February 2007 the Island Line franchise was merged with the South West Trains franchise on the mainland. Stagecoach was announced as the winner of the expanded franchise and operated Island Line as a South West Trains subsidiary. However, the Island Line name was retained, styled as Island Line Trains, and was promoted as a separate division on the South West Trains website.Island Line Trains also repainted stations in a heritage scheme of cream and green, as part of a general station improvement package.
South Western Railway franchise (since 2017)
In August 2017, the franchise was taken over by South Western Railway who have maintained the brand name.Future
A number of suggestions have been made for the future of the railway, which faces long-standing issues such as the cost of maintaining Ryde Pier and the increasing unreliability of the class 483 trains as they passed 80 years in service. Proposals for the route have ranged from total closure - something also explored in the 1960s - to major rebuilding as light rail.Past proposals
In the mid-1990s it was proposed to reopen the line south of Shanklin, to the original terminus at. Despite the high costs involved, the island's MP in 2018 called for feasibility studies on this project and on the prospect of trains running between Ryde and Newport using a mix of the existing heritage railway and a rebuilt section of line between Wooton and Newport.Other proposals put forward for the future of the railway line have included converting the line to a guided busway, something considered in 2005 and the late 2010s as part of a consultation on the line's future. The first plan for a Solent tunnel to connect the island's railways to the mainland network was authorised in the early 20th century and although work to build a rail tunnel has never started, this proposal has resurfaced several times in more recent history.
There have also been proposals to rebuild the line as a light rail route at several points, which would potentially allow for extension into Shanklin and other town centres, the most recent being after a 2016 review of the route by transport expert Christopher Garnett commissioned by the Isle of Wight Council. It suggested converting the route with the third rail replaced with overhead lines and the remaining double-track singled with just passing loops provided. It was reported that ten T-69 trams which were built in 1999, and had previously operated on the Midland Metro, could be re-used for this scheme.. The Isle of Wight Council's Local Transport Plan previously mentioned that any improvements to the railway should ensure compatibility with the currently shelved South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme. However, none of these light rail ideas have been progressed.
Other projects considered for the Island Line include flywheel or battery-powered trains, the use of Vivarail Class 230 units, as well as the transfer of 1972 and 1973 stock to the Island. Two significant considerations for any new stock are that it must pass under the tunnel at Ryde, and stop at the sharply curved platform at Ryde Esplanade railway station without fouling.
The Railway Magazine reported that a meeting took place on 11 February 2015 which covered a relaxation of public railway regulation and safety standards as well as transferring the line to a Social Enterprise Company. According to RM, people present at the meeting included Claire Perry, Andrew Turner MP, Nick Finney and local councillors. News of the meeting has given rise to local controversy.
Long-standing suggestions have included replacing the class 483 trains with newer London Transport stock which has also been retired, such as the 1972 stock and 1967 stock. A plan to reinstate the passing loop at Brading was suggested in 2007-8, because Network Rail believed the line's signalling system needed replacing imminently and thought this could happen during the 2012 London Olympics.. In September 2019 it was confirmed that a passing loop will be installed alongside other works on track and the introduction of replacement rolling stock, allowing trains to run at even 30-minute intervals rather than a 20-minute then 40-minute gap. It is hoped that these improvements will encourage greater use.
2020 upgrade work
On 16 September 2019 it was confirmed that a £26m investment into the Isle of Wight's railways would mean 5 class 484 units would replace the ageing class 483s,, which had become unreliable to the point that services on the line had to be halved in frequency for around a month. The new trains are being built by Vivarail as third-rail units using D78 Stock bodyshells, and island-based stakeholders including the Isle of Wight Council and Solent Local Enterprise Partnership are contributing £1m to fund reinstatement of a long-removed passing loop at Brading to allow them to run at even half-hourly intervals. Network Rail have also agreed to fund £5m of upgrade work on Ryde Pier to secure the line's future, because failure to do so would be terminal to the line's operation. The first of the Class 484 trains is due to arrive on the line in the summer of 2020.Most of the work on the track will take place over the winter of 2020-2021, with a "shuttle" train service planned during this period. Rail services will be replaced by buses between and for 8 weeks in Autumn 2020 while the work is done, with a 4-week suspension expected between St John's Road and. A total of 7,000 tonnes of spoil are expected to be removed during the work. A full service using only the new trains and running to an even 30-minute frequency is due to begin in May 2021. Changes will be made to the track layout and signalling system, principally to introduce a new passing loop at Brading station. As the new Class 484 trains will sit higher above rail level than the Class 483s they will replace, the track through most stations will be lowered in order to prevent a large vertical difference between the train floor height and the platform height. At stations where this is not possible, platform height will instead be raised. The plan as suggested in 2007-8 envisaged the passing loop at Brading replacing that at Sandown, which would have been abandoned along with the remaining double track within Ryde. However, the Programme Manager from South Western Railway has publicly stated that the option of running a 20-minute service will remain after the upgrade which implies that the existing passing points would remain operable.
2020 Ideas Fund
On 23 May 2020, the Department of Transport announced that approval had been given to investigate the possible reinstatement of some or all of the tracks between Shanklin and Ventnor and Ryde and Newport. It was one of ten schemes across UK approved for more study under an "Ideas Fund".Stations
In order from north to south:| Station | Dist. | Opened | Closed | Notes |
| 0m 0ch | 12 July 1880 | connects with ferry services | ||
| 0m 32ch | 5 April 1880 | |||
| 1m 19ch | 23 August 1864 | |||
| 2m 15ch | 20 July 1991 | served on steam operating days only | ||
| 4m 55ch | 23 August 1864 | |||
| 6m 41ch | 23 August 1864 | |||
| 7m 27ch | 11 May 1987 | |||
| 8m 29ch | 23 August 1864 | |||
| 15 September 1866 | 17 April 1966 | |||
| 15 September 1866 | 17 April 1966 |
Rolling stock
Due to the isolated and rural nature of the Isle of Wight's railways, rolling stock has tended to be made up from displaced older vehicles, rebuilt or modified as required. Following the work undertaken during the line's closure during the winter of 1966-67, the ceiling of Ryde Tunnel is 10 inches too low for standard National Rail vehicle types to clear.Since the reopening of the line in 1967, former London Underground Tube stock has been used. The initial trains were formed of so-called Standard Stock, made up into four and three-coach sets, designated "4-VEC" and "3-TIS" in the British Rail Southern Region electric multiple unit classification system. Under the British Railways TOPS rolling stock classification system, these units eventually became Class 485 and Class 486. The cars transferred to the island were built at various dates between 1923 and 1934, and thus maintained a somewhat unwelcome tradition of providing the island's railways with among the oldest rolling stock running anywhere on the British railway system. By 1992 these units had been replaced by newly refurbished London Underground 1938 Stock, designated Class 483 by British Rail. In September 2019, it was announced that the entire fleet would be replaced by Class 484 trains during 2020. The stock is maintained at Ryde St John's Road depot.
Annual season tickets
Because the Isle of Wight is within the Network SouthEast area, annual season tickets issued to and from its stations are issued as Gold Cards. A ticket from Ryde Esplanade to Ryde St Johns Road was for many years the cheapest annual ticket in the area, and even though many holders of such tickets never use them for the intended journey, the discount obtained over the year may amply repay the cost of the ticket. When the Gold Card area was extended to include the West Midlands in January 2015, the Ryde ticket was undercut by a similar short-distance ticket between Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley.Passenger numbers
After privatisation, passenger numbers rose steadily from an estimated 1.21 million in 1997–98 to an estimated 1.61 million in 2006–07.After the merger of the Island Line and South West Trains franchises in 2007, Island Line passenger numbers fell slightly from an estimated 1.61 million in 2006–07 to an estimated 1.53 million in 2009–10. They peaked again at an estimated record 1.67 million in 2011–12, but since then have fallen rapidly to an estimated 1.31 million in 2014–15. This is the lowest annual estimate since 1998–99, and suggests passenger numbers have fallen by 22% in the last four years.
Smallbrook Junction has no road or footpath access and is normally open only on days when the connecting Isle of Wight Steam Railway is operating.