From Friday 6 September to Sunday 6 October, the Island Line will be closed in its entirety from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin, while Network Rail and Island Line engineers complete a large programme of vital maintenance.

This will include work to repair and preserve the historic Ryde Pier structure, which began in October 2022. The pier will also close to trains on Friday 6 September 2024 and is expected to reopen in early May 2025, in time for the summer holiday season.

Part of the track and infrastructure on the Island Line has become life-expired and recent severe weather is contributing to the acceleration of the degradation of the railway, particularly the pier.

Service Adjustments During Closure:

• 6 September to 6 October – Full Close of the Island Line- Rail replacement bus services will operate between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin.
• 6 September to early May 2025- Closure of Ryde Pier – A minibus service will run between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade. Train services will operate every 30 minutes between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin.
The large-scale programme of works along the length of the Island Line includes:
• Track renewals and structural repairs between Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier station
• Renewing bridges at Park Road and Rink Road, which will include the resurfacing of the highway and strengthening of the abutments
• Through the support of the local authority, upgrading the footbridge at Ryde Esplanade with a strengthened footway after concrete repairs and repainting
• Removing the listed footbridge at Brading station and taking it away for repairs. The listed footbridge will then be reinstalled in September with the temporary footbridge currently in place being removed
• Structural maintenance repairs on St John’s Road Bridge and Wall End Lane Road Bridge at Brading
• Replacing signals (the traffic lights of the railway) between Smallbrook Junction and Ryde St Johns Road and refurbishing signal cables near Sandown station
• Carrying out track refurbishment at Sandown station
• Tamping, which uses specialist machines to restore the line and level of the track, between Truckles Bridge and Rowborough to improve the passenger experience over this section of the line.
We will be sending detailed letters to lineside neighbours impacted by these works, providing specific information about these projects and their timelines in the next couple of weeks.

Engineers will also be taking advantage of the closed railway to survey and inspect multiple parts of our railway infrastructure, including tunnels, footbridges, earthworks, drainage and track. This will help our teams identify where additional work will need to take place in the future.

The upcoming long-term closure on the pier will allow our teams to continue the complex task of repairing the historic structure, allowing services to continue using it for a further 60 years.

 

This update is provided by the Wessex Public Affairs Team. For any queries, please contact [email protected]