Island Line to fully reopen after months of work

A railway line is set to fully reopen after nine months of "intensive and complex" repair work.

The Isle of Wight's Island Line closed in September 2024 for Network Rail and South Western Railway engineers to carry out refurbishments to the Ryde Pier structure.

Network Rail has now announced the service is set to reopen between the pier head and Shanklin on Friday 2 May.

The upgrades to the pier mean it should be more resilient to extreme weather, a statement from the rail service explained.

Ahead of the reopening, the entire line from Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head will be shut for six days from Saturday 26 April for engineers to complete final preparations.

Network Rail confirmed a replacement bus would be operating instead of the trains.

On 2 May, the first service is due to depart Ryde St Johns at 05:23 GMT, with the first train from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin leaving at 06:03.

Network Rail engineers are expected to return to the line later in 2025 to complete additional upgrades.

George Murrell, from Network Rail Wessex, 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...

"I'd like to again thank passengers, residents and businesses... for their patience and understanding while we've undertaken this programme of critical repairs and upgrades."

Mark Dunn, Island Line general manager, said the works would "preserve the historic pier for many years to come".

"We're extremely grateful to our customers and islanders for their patience while these important works were completed and look forward to welcoming them back for the full service soon," he added.

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.