Last updated: 17 March 2025
Island Line will fully reopen from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin on Friday 2 May, in time for the Early May Bank Holiday.
Since September 2024, Ryde Pier Head has been closed while repairs have been carried out on Ryde Pier, with rail replacement buses running between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade.
Ahead of the reopening, the whole line will close for six days from Saturday 26 April to allow engineers to complete final preparations for the resumption of services. During these six days, replacement buses will operate from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin.
We are pleased to be reopening the full line four days earlier than originally planned, supporting the Isle of Wight during the busy bank holiday.
We are grateful to customers and Islanders for their patience as these important repair works have been carried out, which will protect historic Ryde Pier and make Island Line services more reliable for many years to come.
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 caused parts of the structure to deteriorate, it has needed 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 have used 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 continues 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.
