THE Isle of Wight has always been served by a quirky railway system which, until closures commenced in the 1950s, once boasted a total of more than 50 route-miles.
Today, however, only the 8½-mile third-rail route between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin survives. But even this has been under attack in recent years.
In February 2015, the Wessex Alliance – made up of operator South West Trains and Network Rail – visited the island to explore options for the line, including total closure as suggested by then Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.
IoW MP Andrew Turner and council leader Jonathan Bacon suggested the line be turned over to local ownership outside the protection of a franchise. Minutes of a meeting between Mr Turner, Mr Bacon and the rail minister Claire Perry emerged stating that splitting the line away from the SWT franchise and running it as a community-based undertaking was an option for the future. Mr Turner suggested that the experience of operating Shanklin theatre and a local swimming pool as community-based operations could be used to run the railway in a similar way.
In a written statement, he said that SWT told him it would be easier to close Island Line and
