Island Line to reopen fully in May - but further closure expected

The Isle of Wight’s railway is due to reopen fully after months of repair work along Ryde Pier.

The line closed last September, severing the rail link between the island and the Wightlink ferry connection to Portsmouth. A shuttle bus along the road pier has been offered instead.

Network Rail said trains will resume operating along the pier on Friday May 2, which it claimed is four days earlier than planned. It enables services to run over the May Bank Holiday, which is important for the island’s tourist trade.

But ahead of the reopening, the entire 8.5-mile line will shut for a further six days from Shanklin to Ryde from April 26, with buses running instead.

Wessex route renewals director George Murrell said: “We’re now on the home stretch of this work and while I know it will be disappointing, we will need to close the line for the week preceding the resumption of services to finish the final pieces of work.”

This will include testing the signalling, removing materials and temporary buffer stops on Ryde Pier, and moving cabling from one side of the track to the other at Brading.

Mark Dunn, SWR’s general manager for Island Line, said the work would “preserve the historic pier for many years to come.”

There will be further work to complete later in the year, including replacing track between Ryde Esplanade and Ryde St Johns Road.