Island Line, Isle of Wight

This article is about the railway on the Isle of Wight. For other uses, see Island Line.

Island Line
Overview
Type	Community railway
Locale	Isle of Wight
Termini	Ryde Pier Head 50°44′19″N 1°09′37″W / 50.7385°N 1.1604°W / 50.7385; -1.1604 (Ryde Pier Head station) Shanklin 50°38′02″N 1°10′47″W / 50.6338°N 1.1798°W / 50.6338; -1.1798 (Shanklin station)
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Island Line Trains
Depot(s)	Ryde depot
Rolling stock	British Rail Class 483
Technical
Line length	8 1⁄2 miles (13.7 km)
No. of tracks	Mixture of single and double track
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	750V DC third rail
Operating speed	45 mph (72.4 km/h)

Island Line, Isle of Wight
Legend
0m 00ch Ryde Pier Head for ferries to Portsmouth Ryde Pier 0m 32ch Ryde Esplanade for hovercraft to Southsea Tunnel under Ryde 396 yd  362 m  St. John's Road 1m 19ch Ryde St John's Road Ryde depot 2m 15ch Smallbrook Junction Isle of Wight Steam Railway branch to Bembridge 4m 55ch Brading Sandown Road line to Newport and Cowes Sandown sidings 6m 41ch Sandown 7m 27ch Lake 8m 28ch Shanklin Wroxall(closed 1966) Tunnel under St Boniface Down Ventnor(closed 1966)

The Island Line is a railway line on the Isle of Wight, running some 8 ¹⁄₂ miles (13.7 km) from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin down the eastern side of the island. The line was electrified (630 V DC third rail) in 1967.^[1][2] Trains connect with passenger ferries to Portsmouth Harbour at Ryde Pier Head, and these ferries in turn connect with the rest of the National Rail network. The line also connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a steam-operated heritage railway at Smallbrook Junction. 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 Ryde St John's Road to Shanklin was opened on 23 August 1864, having been built by the Isle of Wight Railway. In 1866 the line was extended through to Ventnor. 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 (LSWR) and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) opened a jointly-owned line north from Ryde St John's Road. Under the direction of LBSCR Chief Engineer Frederick Banister,^[3] the construction of the extension included a new tunnel and a third Ryde Pier to enable the line to reach Ryde Pier Head, 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 (now known as the Island Line).^[4]

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 the winter, the two lines from Smallbrook to St. John's Road reverted to independent single track operation.^[4]

In 1927,^[4] the passing loops at Brading and Sandown were connected to form a second section of double track.

British Rail (1948-1996)

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,^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.

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 only in use at signals protecting single-track sections of the route.^[8]

The line was designated by the Department for Transport as a community railway in March 2006, under reforms to help boost use of rural and branch lines in the UK rail network.^[9]

South Western franchise (since 2007)

From February 2007, the Island Line franchise was merged with the South Western franchise on the mainland. Stagecoach were announced as the winner of the expanded franchise, and they now operate Island Line under their South West Trains subsidiary.^[10] However, the Island Line name has been retained, styled as Island Line Trains, promoted as a separate division on the South West Trains website.

Island Line Trains have also repainted stations in a heritage scheme of cream and green, as part of a general station improvement package.^[11]

Future

In the mid-1990s, it was planned to reopen the line south of Shanklin, to the original terminus at Ventnor. However, this now seems unlikely to happen, due in part to the high costs involved.

Various other proposals have been put forward for the future of the railway line. These have included:

• Conversion of the line to an express bus road.^[12]
• Connecting the line to the mainland rail network via a Solent tunnel.^[13]

It has previously been mentioned in the Isle of Wight Council's Local Transport Plan that any improvements to the railway should be made to ensure compatibility with the currently shelved South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme. A more recent suggestion (early 2009) has been to reinstate the loop at Brading, thus allowing a 'Clock Face' timetable to encourage greater use. The outcome of this is still awaited.

The book Tube Trains on the Isle Of Wight listed several interesting earlier considerations to the future of the line being considered during its publication date of 2004. These included

• Replacement of the current stock with discarded London Transport stock of later builds, such as the 1972 stock and 1967 stock.
• De-electrification of the whole line and replacement of current stock with a new build of diesel units.
• Rebuilding the line into a light rapid-transit system (i.e. trams), enabling an extension into Shanklin town centre.

Stations

In order from north to south:

Station	Dist.	Opened	Closed	Notes
Ryde Pier Head	0m 0ch	12 July 1880
Ryde Esplanade	0m 32ch	5 April 1880
Ryde St John's Road	1m 19ch	23 August 1864
Smallbrook Junction	2m 15ch	20 July 1991		served on steam operating days only
Brading	4m 55ch	23 August 1864
Sandown	6m 41ch	23 August 1864
Lake	7m 27ch	11 May 1987
Shanklin	8m 29ch	23 August 1864
Wroxall		15 September 1866	17 April 1966
Ventnor		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.^[5]

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 (with one spare vehicle, normally kept at Ryde depot), designated "4-VEC" and "3-TIS" in the British Rail Southern Region electric multiple unit classification system. (The classification letters were a pun on the Roman name for the island - Vectis, also reflected in the name of the island's nationalised bus company, Southern Vectis, which was once partially railway-owned.) Under the British Railways TOPS rolling stock classification system (introduced in 1968 for locomotives and later extended to multiple unit vehicles), 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^[14] these units had been replaced by newly refurbished London Underground 1938 Stock, designated Class 483 by British Rail. 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 Pier Head to Ryde Esplanade 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. Since the Gold Card area was extended to include the West Midlands in January 2015,^[15] the Ryde ticket has been undercut by a similar short-distance ticket between Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley.

Passenger numbers

The figures below are the number of passengers on the line from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2010. 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.

Station usage
Station Name	2002–03	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
Ryde Pier Head	116,652	121,387	116,812	149,226	193,714	210,604	210,604	235,156	223,542
Ryde Esplanade	431,636	453,314	456,944	489,372	442,861	396,358	360,650	392,020	364,780
Ryde St John's Road	140,242	160,891	175,208	178,869	178,914	190,796	200,976	240,046	251,694
Smallbrook Junction	2,995	3,087	2,716	2,965	4,363	9,672	10,170	11,472	11,478
Brading	73,546	66,932	69,074	68,841	60,680	65,794	61,406	63,872	67,840
Sandown	244,876	242,564	254,040	265,499	264,784	264,126	256,890	271,282	297,722
Lake	78,279	77,995	76,364	71,465	69,350	67,162	67,584	67,656	77,772
Shanklin	329,887	341,826	345,020	382,842	368,776	358,658	338,612	345,844	373,006
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve month periods that start in April. Please note that methodology may vary year on year.

See also

• Island Line Trains
• Isle of Wight Railway

Sources

• Hardy, Brian (2003). Tube Trains on the Isle of Wight. Harrow Weald, Middlesex: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-276-3. 

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Island Line.

• BBC Travel News - Island Line
• Isle of Wight Council Rail Study
• Island Line Historical Train Map

Island Line, Isle of Wight Stations Ryde Pier Head Ryde Esplanade Ryde St John's Road Smallbrook Junction (steam operating days only) Brading Sandown Lake Shanklin History Isle of Wight Railway Southern Railway British Rail Class 485 British Rail Class 486 Other pages British Rail Class 483 Island Line Trains Ventnor Rail Link Ryde depot Ryde Pier

Transport on the Isle of Wight Places Bembridge Airport Yarmouth bus station Isle of Wight/Sandown Airport Newport bus station Ryde Transport Interchange Cowes Floating Bridge Operators Southern Vectis Island Line Trains Other Isle of Wight ferry services Hovertravel Red Funnel Wightlink Cowes park and ride Railways Isle of Wight Steam Railway Island Line

Ceremonial county of Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Portal Unitary authorities Isle of Wight Major settlements Bembridge Brading Cowes East Cowes Freshwater Newport Ryde Sandown Shanklin Ventnor Yarmouth See also: List of civil parishes in Isle of Wight Rivers River Caul Bourne River Medina Newtown River Solent Wootton Creek Eastern Yar Western Yar Topics Buildings and Structures Culture Dinosaurs Education Geography History People Places Politics Schools Transport Visitor attractions

Railway lines in the South East Primary International High Speed 1 (Ashford • Ebbsfleet) National Great Western Main Line (Slough • Maidenhead • Reading • Didcot Parkway) West Coast Main Line (Milton Keynes Central) Secondary Berks/Bucks/Oxon to London Aylesbury Line Chiltern Main Line Waterloo to Reading Line (and in Surrey) Windsor & Eton Riverside Line (and in Surrey) Crossrail (under construction) (and past London to Essex) Kent to London Bexleyheath Line Chatham Main Line Dartford Loop Line Kent Coast Line Maidstone Line Medway Valley Line North Kent Line Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) Line Sheerness Line South Eastern Main Line Tonbridge Line (and in Surrey) Surrey/Sussex/Hants to London Ascot to Guildford Line Alton Line Arun Valley Line Brighton Main Line Caterham Line Fareham Line Hampton Court Branch Line Hastings Line (and in Kent) Chertsey Branch Line Epsom Downs Branch New Guildford Line Oxted Line (and in Kent) Portsmouth Direct Line Shepperton Branch Line South Western Main Line Sutton and Mole Valley Lines Tattenham Corner Line Thameslink (and past London to Beds/Herts) West of England Main Line Others Cherwell Valley Line Cotswold Line Eastleigh to Romsey Line East Coastway Line (inc Marshlink Line) Henley Branch Line Island Line, Isle of Wight Lymington Branch Line Marlow Branch Line Marston Vale Line North Downs Line Oxford to Bicester Line Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line Reading to Taunton Line West Coastway Line Wessex Main Line Slough to Windsor & Eton Line Reading to Basingstoke Line Seaford Branch Line Heritage Bluebell Railway Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway Cholsey & Wallingford Railway East Kent Railway Isle of Wight Steam Railway Kent and East Sussex Railway Lavender Line Spa Valley Railway Watercress Line Non-Passenger/Defunct Hundred of Hoo Railway Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway

Coordinates: 50°41′01″N 1°08′17″W / 50.6835°N 1.1380°W / 50.6835; -1.1380