Last updated: 29 October 2024
Ryde pier is closed until May 2025 while we continue vital maintenance that aims to extend its life by up to 60 years.
This work, being carried out alongside our colleagues at Network Rail, can only be carried out while trains are not running. As a result, the pier will close to Island Line services from September 2024, re-opening in May 2025.
During the pier’s closure, a minibus shuttle service will operate between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade. Train services will operate every 30 minutes between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin, maintaining the vital connection between the Island Line and ferry services to the mainland.
The need for the works
The railway structure of the pier was built between 1878 and 1880 by Victorian engineers. After nearly 150 years of harsh environmental conditions, which have caused parts of the structure to deteriorate, it now needs major refurbishment and repairs.
The 686-metre-long pier is split into six ‘zones’ which were built using several different forms of construction, while there have also been both major and emergency repairs in the last 60 years.
Engineers now have to use a variety of methods to repair the pier, with a combination of both partial replacements and full refurbishments of the metal and timber structure.
The closure through to May 2025 will continue the work that took place between October 2022 and July 2023, when engineers installed a new weather screen to protect customers from the elements at Ryde Pier Head station, replaced 172 metres of track, installed 143 metres of new steel rail bearers and re-painted Ryde Pier Head station.
