Island Line
An Island Line Class 484 at Shanklin in 2022
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	South Western 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)
Service
Type	Community railway
Operator(s)	Island Line
Depot(s)	Ryde
Rolling stock	British Rail Class 484
History
Opened	5 April 1880
Closed	3 January 1967 (temporarily)
Reopened	1 April 1967
Closed	3 January 2021 (temporarily)
Reopened	1 November 2021
Technical
Line length	8+1⁄2 mi (13.7 km)
Number of tracks	Mixture of single and double track
Character	Fully grade separated except foot crossings
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Loading gauge	W6[1]
Route availability	RA 1[1]
Electrification	750 V DC third rail[2] (660 V DC[1] before January 2021)
Operating speed	45 mph (72 km/h)
Route map (Click to expand)

The Island Line is a railway line on the Isle of Wight which runs along the island's east coast and links Ryde Pier Head with Shanklin. Trains connect at Ryde Pier Head with passenger ferries to Portsmouth Harbour, and these ferries in turn connect with the rest of the National Rail network via the Portsmouth Direct Line. The line also connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a 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.

Route

v t e Island Line, Isle of Wight
Legend
mi-ch ferries to Portsmouth 0-00 Ryde Pier Head Ryde Pier 0-32 Ryde Esplanade Hovercraft to Southsea tunnel under Ryde 396 yd 362 m B3330 St John's Road 1-19 Ryde St John's Road Ryde depot 2-17 Smallbrook Junction Isle of Wight Steam Railway to Havenstreet & Wootton A3055 to Bembridge 4-55 Brading Sandown Road A3055 to Newport and Cowes Sandown sidings 6-42 Sandown A3055 7-24 Lake A3055 8-29 Shanklin closed 1966 Wroxall tunnel under St Boniface Down Ventnor

The line starts at Ryde Pier Head station,^[a] which is located at the sea end of Ryde Pier and connects with cross−Solent ferry services to/from Portsmouth Harbour operated by Wightlink. The station has an island platform with two platform faces and two tracks,^[3] although only the western track (and thus only one platform face) remains in passenger use. From here, the line runs along the pier's eastern side towards the shore before reaching Ryde Esplanade station^[b] at the other end of the pier. Located north of Ryde's town centre, Esplanade station is the busiest of the three stations in the town;^[4] it forms part of the town's main transport interchange along with the nearby Ryde Bus Station (offering bus services to the rest of the island)^[5] and Ryde Hoverport (with cross−Solent hovercraft connections to and from Southsea).^[6] The station has one side platform in operation; a second platform, which was converted into a garden in 2015, lies adjacent to the disused track.

Although the line along the pier appears to be a typical double-track line, the eastern track is no longer connected to the rest of the line, having been cut off during the 2021 upgrade works.^{[citation needed]} Prior to that, there was no crossover between the two tracks until immediately south of Esplanade station, meaning they were de facto two separate single-track lines,^[3] a layout similar to those at Bare Lane,^[7] Glenrothes with Thornton^[8] and Worcester Foregate Street^[9] stations.

South of Esplanade station, both tracks are operational. The line continues as double-track through Ryde via the Ryde Tunnel, bypassing the town centre to the northeast, before it reaches Ryde St John's Road station^[c] to the east of the town centre. The station has a total of three platforms^[3] linked by a footbridge, two of which are in regular use by passenger services. The third platform, while open, is a south-facing bay platform,^[3] meaning only the few terminating services can stop there. Adjacent to St John's Road station is Ryde depot − the only traction maintenance depot on the line.

The line then leaves Ryde and continues southwards, reducing to single-track immediately north of the next station, Smallbrook Junction.^[d] This station is unique on the National Rail network in that there is no public access into or out of the station − it exists purely as an interchange between the Island Line and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.^[10][11] The station was built in 1991 − the same year that the steam railway was extended to this location. Despite the station's name there is no longer an actual junction here, as the two railway lines are not physically connected to each other.^[3]

The next station on the line is Brading,^[e] which has two platforms connected by a footbridge and a foot crossing at the southern end of the station, as well as a passing loop which allows trains running in opposite directions to pass each other. The original passing loop was closed and lifted in 1988, but was reinstated and brought back into use in 2021 as part of the line improvement programme; the second platform and the footbridge between the two platforms had been mothballed throughout this closure. The line then continues in a southwesterly direction towards Sandown station,^[f] which has retained its passing loop;^[3] the station's two platforms are connected by a subway.

Beyond Sandown, the line is single-track for the remainder of the route.^[3] The penultimate station on the line is Lake,^[g] opened in 1987, and the line terminates just over a mile later at Shanklin station.^[h] Shanklin also used to have a second platform, which is now used as a flowerbed. Until 1966, the line continued further south to Wroxall and Ventnor (see History below).

The full line, from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin, is 8 miles 31 chains (13.5 km) long.^[3]

Services

As of April 2023, train services on the line run every 30 minutes in each direction between Ryde and Shanklin, calling at all intermediate stations except (usually) Smallbrook Junction.^[12] This frequency has been made possible by an additional passing loop installed at Brading during the 2020–2021 upgrade works;^[13] prior to the upgrade, services ran at an alternating 20/40-minute frequency.

Smallbrook Junction station is only open on days when the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is operating; when open, the station is served by up to nine trains per day in each direction between 10:30 and 17:00.^[14]

Passenger numbers

After privatisation, passenger numbers rose steadily from an estimated 1.21 million in 1997–1998 to an estimated 1.61 million in 2006–2007.^[4]

After the merger of the Island Line and South West Trains franchises in 2007, Island Line passenger numbers fell slightly from an estimated 1.61 million in 2006–2007 to an estimated 1.53 million in 2009–2010. They peaked again at an estimated record 1.67 million in 2011–2012, but since then fell to an estimated 1.31 million in 2014–2015. This was the lowest annual estimate since 1998–1999, and suggests passenger numbers fell by 22% in four years.^[4]