Island Line services, Isle of Wight. General discussion

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

and a little more about it from local IOW radio.

https://iwradio.co.uk/2020/03/01/54-years-on-we-could-see-the-restoration-of-the-isle-of-wights-railways/?fbclid=IwAR3w2jSoZQoMAnDkPO6kV-BRMZ-jhscFynGZJEJlQZHj0OGOHyZWzfRvTs8



Exclusive:
An expression of interest into re-opening two branch lines was submitted to the Department for Transport (Dft) on Friday (February 28), by the Isle of Wight’s MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Bob Seely – with the Isle of Wight Council’s support and involvement.
As previously reported by Isle of Wight Radio, last summer, the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) promised to invest £26m to upgrade and improve Island Line.

Bob told Isle of Wight Radio the Expression of Interest letter was to look at routes that could be re-opened, including:
Extend the existing Island Line (Ryde to Shanklin) south of Shanklin to reach Ventnor.
Providing regular passenger services through Smallbrook from Ryde to Newport – although this would be dependent on collaboration with the IW Steam Railway that owned the track.
Bob said that this was the start of a process – the next stage was a competition for a feasibility study which would look in detail at these routes.
The report states “The council is “welcoming” the move and “will support proposals that increase travel choice and provide alternative means of travel to the car.”
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A source close to Isle of Wight Radio says the expression of interest has been welcomed by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (Solent LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about)).
MP for the Isle of Wight Bob Seely told Isle of Wight Radio:
“This is the start of a process to see if it is realistic to re-open any of the old lines on the Isle of Wight. We need more sustainable transport on the Island. Our roads are getting fuller.  Connecting Newport and Ventnor to Ryde would be a big boost for the Island. It’s early days yet, but I want to make sure that the Isle of Wight is at the head of any plans to reopen old lines. This is a huge boost for the Island in many ways. I will continue to see that the Isle of Wight is at the front of the queue.”
Until the 1950s the Island had a railway network of around 60 route miles, by 1966 only the Ryde to Shanklin route remained working -thanks to London underground tube rolling stock – which was electrified.
Isle of Wight Radio has asked the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the Isle of Wight Council for a comment.

[Ralph Ayres]

I'm not convinced this has been thought through, and it smacks of an MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) looking to raise his profile without really having to do anything. The line to Ventnor for instance emerged from a difficult to maintain tunnel to an inconvenient station sited at the very top of the town. The steep hill means that it would never be practical to relocate it somewhere more useful, whereas buses can serve the whole place. Running services via the steam railway's track to Newport would be rather more complex than just "collaboration"; making it frequent enough and fast enough to be preferable to a bus would inevitably interfere with one of the island's main tourist attractions.

[johnneyw]

IOW Steam Railway has responded to the recent proposals:

'Isle of Wight Steam Railway says it is 'open to discussions' with the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for the Isle of Wight.
However it 'has no plans' to extend the railway line due to 'financial and technical challenges.'


I recall an earlier proposal from another interested group which included looking at a (tram?) service from Ventnor to Newport.  If the IOW Steam Railway route is a non starter then Newport to Ryde is still ….. perhaps..... on the cards by that route? IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) the proposal was based on the fact that the old route was sufficiently preserved to make this a possibility.

[grahame]

From Machinery Market

Midlands-based Vivarail, which is at the forefront of moves to develop emission-free trains, has agreed a deal for a new manufacturing base at Southam (near Leamington Spa) to help it meet a growing order book (www.vivarail.co.uk.

The company) is moving its main base from Long Marston to a refurbished 37,000ft2 unit at Kineton Road Industrial Estate.

A spokesman for Vivarail, which recently won a deal to supply five two-car Class 484 electric multiple units to South Western Railway for use on the Isle of Wight, said: “Vivarail is delighted with its new facilities at Southam and looking forward to establishing its new manufacturing base.

[Surrey 455]

From Machinery Market

Midlands-based Vivarail, which is at the forefront of moves to develop emission-free trains, has agreed a deal for a new manufacturing base at Southam (near Leamington Spa) to help it meet a growing order book (www.vivarail.co.uk.

The company) is moving its main base from Long Marston to a refurbished 37,000ft2 unit at Kineton Road Industrial Estate.

A spokesman for Vivarail, which recently won a deal to supply five two-car Class 484 electric multiple units to South Western Railway for use on the Isle of Wight, said: “Vivarail is delighted with its new facilities at Southam and looking forward to establishing its new manufacturing base.

The new base is about 2.5km from the nearest railway line as the crow flies. Presumably they've checked the local roads to make sure they'll have no problems getting the carriages in and out on the back of a lorry.

[bradshaw]

Might they not use the Daventry International Freight Terminal which is rail connected, but a few more miles away?

[Surrey 455]

Might they not use the Daventry International Freight Terminal which is rail connected, but a few more miles away?

Quite possibly. I was just looking for the shortest distance between factory and railway. I wasn't really looking for an access point at that time.

[stuving]

Might they not use the Daventry International Freight Terminal which is rail connected, but a few more miles away?

Quite possibly. I was just looking for the shortest distance between factory and railway. I wasn't really looking for an access point at that time.

I doubt that distance is much of an issue; it's the time and trouble (and cost) of loading and unloading a low-loader that you avoid by being rail connected. But it's not clear what they are going to "manufacture" there - 37,000 sq ft is not very big: less that 60 m x 60 m so a big fraction would be taken up by just one 3-car train. 

[johnneyw]

The Keep Island Line in Franchise Facebook page has added a Twitter tweet from Bob Seely, IoW MP^▸ (Member of Parliament), announcing that the IoW has been approved for development funding (feasibility study) looking at reopening railways to Newport and Ventnor.
Thought I post it here but it also possibly has relevance to the Coffee Shop wider current debates into the future of rail.

[ellendune]

A good place to post it but for the wider picture see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=23523.msg288841#msg288841

[grahame]

For today, from National Rail

There is a fault on one of the trains which runs between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin, resulting in a reduced service being in operation on the Island Line until approximately 16:00.
Trains will run as follows:
Trains will depart Shanklin at 18 minutes past the hour
Trains will depart Ryde Pier Head at 49 minutes past the hour

Additional information:
Additional maintenance is required to one of the Island Line trains, so there will only be one train available to run until approximately 16:00.

Not the first time ... the dangers of a very small pool of old trains, and the inability of anything to be temporarily transferred from a neighbouring line.

[Fourbee]

Does the (2-car?) '38 in the London Transport museum still "work"  ?

[eightonedee]

Why did I think of Go-op when I read Grahame' s post above?

[eXPassenger]

Does the (2-car?) '38 in the London Transport museum still "work"  ?

Even if it did, how would you get it there?

[grahame]

Does the (2-car?) '38 in the London Transport museum still "work"  ?

Even if it did, how would you get it there?

Take an individual railway carriage
Put it on a road vehicle
Put that on a Portsmouth - Fishborne ferry
Sail that across