Network Rail and South Western Railway have reminded passengers that the Island Line, which runs from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight, will close for essential maintenance work on Friday, 6 September.
This will allow engineers to carry out vital infrastructure maintenance projects, including track renewal in the Ryde area, bridge renovation and repairs at Brading, Sandown and Ryde St Johns Road, as well as signalling upgrade works in Ryde.
The majority of the line will re-open on Monday, 7 October, after which South Western Railway trains will resume services at a 30-minute frequency.
However, the section along the historic Ryde pier will remain closed until early May 2025.
This means that no services will run between Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier Head for an 8-month period, during which engineers will continue preservation work which began in October 2022.
The work is needed to ensure the long-term future of the historic pier structure, and previously required the line along the pier to be closed from October 2022 to July 2023.
During the upcoming closure, a replacement bus service will operate to Ryde Pier Head in order to help passengers reach catamaran services to Portsmouth.
The month-long full-line closure will also see replacement buses operating along the length of the line in order to minimise inconvenience.
The Island Line is currently serviced by two-car Class 484s which were converted from London Underground D78 Stock and arrived on the line in 2021 and 2022.
We recognise there is never a convenient time to close the line, but we have waited to do so until after the important summer period and we would like to thank local residents, businesses and customers in advance for their patience and understanding while we complete this important work.
Tom McNamee, Network Rail Wessex Route Infrastructure Director
Responses
Well Well yet again. Every time I have tried to travel on this bit of line from the 1980s to now
the pier head railway has always been closed They may as well close it for good and save money.
If one has to take a bus anyway, then some rail passengers would do well to opt for the Hovercraft instead (shuttle bus from P&Southsea to hoverport)
The investment & care into this historic pier is commendable, the service cannot be profitable compared to the investment,.
A heart felt thank you to those responsible.
The “service” to Ryde Pier Head seems to have been in utter disarray for years. Closing the service from Esplanade to Pier Head for yet another 8 months will surely discourage everyone from ever considering using the train again. Surely Network Rail could do the necessary work in less than 8 months?
Well that’s my holiday up and out of the crack pipe. XD
Very poor connections into and out of the lopsided service (40 minutes headway) that has been operating of late.