Some Island arguments never go away as these two pieces published in the Isle of Wight Observer of 12th January, 1901, show. However, the Island’s railway no longer serves the West Wight – would that be the case if the ‘Solent Tunnel’ had been built as envisaged at the turn of the last century?

THE SOLENT TUNNEL.
ELECTRIC RAILWAY TO REACH THE ISLE OF WIGHT.
In the next Session of Parliament (says the Express) a Bill will be promoted to seek powers to construct a railway under the Solent, and thus give a complete land communication between the mainland and the Isle of Wight. The length of the necessary tunnel will be about 2m. 500yd., and the entire distance of the railway to be constructed will be seven miles. It is proposed to commence the line at Sway, Hampshire, by a junction with the Lymington branch of the London and South-Western Railway, and will terminate by a junction with the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway in the Isle of Wight. The capital of the company is to be £600,000, and its promoters are the Earl of Egmont, Sir J. B. Maple, Bart., and others.

YARMOUTH DISSENTS.
Public authorities at Yarmouth, apparently view with apprehension the proposal to construct a railway under the Solent between Hurst and Freshwater, in view of the fact that much of the London traffic, both passengers and goods, to the western portion of the Island, passes through Yarmouth, where pier tolls and harbour dues form a very large part of the income of the Town Trust. Consequently the members of the Trust have decided to express their dissent to the proposal.