By Press Release
Island Line services will be replaced by buses between Friday 8 and Tuesday March 12 for a package of maintenance and improvements.
The Island Line will be closed in its entirety, from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin, with rail replacement buses operating instead of trains, for all five days.
The closure will allow engineers to carry out essential work on flood defences, which are being improved following severe weather in early January.
Track upgrades, vegetation management work and structural surveys will also take place, ensuring as much work as possible is carried out while trains are not running.
Customers are advised to allow extra time to complete their journeys, as they will take longer than usual. Rail replacement bus timetables are available on the SWR website.
Mark Dunn, South Western Railway’s Island Line General Manager, said: “We are sorry for the disruption that this closure will cause, however we must complete this programme of work in order to keep trains running reliably.
“Following January’s severe weather we will improve our flood defences and, while there are no trains running, it makes sense to add other work we would otherwise look to carry out at weekends.
“We are advising customers to allow extra time to complete their journeys and to check the timings of our rail replacement buses by visiting our website.”
