Island Line, Isle of Wight

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Franchise(s):	Island Line – 4. February 2007
Main area(s):	Isle of Wight
Other area(s):	None
Fleet size:	7 (6 operated)
Stations:	8
Parent company:	Stagecoach Group
Web site:	www.island-line.co.uk

Island Line is the smallest of the Train Operating Companies that make up Britain’s National Rail network. The franchise is currently operated by the Stagecoach Group. It is the only passenger franchise that includes maintenance of the infrastructure in addition to the running of passenger services.

Island Line is reportedly Britain’s most reliable and punctual train company. The shortness and simplicity of the route may be the reason for this.

A new South Western franchise beginning 4 February 2007 will combine Island Line with South West Trains on the mainland. Stagecoach currently own both companies and in October 2006 its bid won the rights to operate the combined franchise. The UK's Department for Transport recently designated the Line a 'Community Rail Line' under recent reforms to help boost use of rural and branch lines in the UK rail network.

[edit] Line and trains

Island Line operate a single railway line on the Isle of Wight, running some 8½ miles from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin down the eastern side of the island. The line was electrified (750 V DC third rail) in 1967. Trains connect with passenger ferries to Portsmouth Harbour at Ryde Pier Head, and these ferries in turn connect with the rest of the National Rail network. The line also connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a steam operated heritage railway at Smallbrook Junction. Because of tight clearances within a tunnel at Ryde, standard National Rail vehicle types cannot operate on the Island Line. Currently, the services are operated using Class 483 units, which are refurbished ex-London Underground tube trains originally built in 1938. These replaced the older Class 485 and Class 486 units, which dated from 1923. Following its successful bid for the new integrated franchise, Stagecoach announced that it had no plans to replace the current rolling stock, instead investing "to ensure the continued viability of the existing Island Line rolling stock and infrastructure" [1]. By 2016, when the new franchise is due to end, the rolling stock on the Isle of Wight will be almost 80 years old.

Island Line

Stations (from north to south)

Ryde Pier Head
Ryde Esplanade
Ryde St John's Road
Smallbrook Junction
for Isle of Wight Steam Railway
Brading
Sandown
Lake
Shanklin

[edit] Island Line Route

	Ryde
	Smallbrook Junction (interchange only - no access other than by rail)
	Brading
	Sandown
	Lake
	Shanklin

In the mid-1990s it was planned to reopen the line south of Shanklin, to the original terminus atVentnor. However, this now seems unlikely to happen, due in part to the high costs involved.

[edit] See also

Preceded by: Network SouthEast As part of British Rail	Operator of Island Line franchise 1996-present	Succeeded by: N/A

v • d • e Current scheduled passenger train operators in Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Domestic:	Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central¹ - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line² - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways³ - 'one' - Silverlink - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains² - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains
International:	Enterprise³ - Eurostar
Airport Link:	Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express⁴
Sleeper:	Caledonian Sleeper⁵ - Night Riviera⁶
1 Starts 20 May 2007 - 2 To be replaced by the South Western franchise in February 2007 3 Operated on the Irish railway network - 4 Operated by 'one' - 5 Operated by First ScotRail 6 Operated by First Great Western

Future passenger train operators in Great Britain
New Franchises:	Cross Country¹ - East Midlands¹ - London Overground¹ - South Western² West Midlands¹
Proposed open-access operators:	Grand Union³ - Wrexham & Shropshire⁴
1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Starts February 2007 - 3 Proposed - 4 Awaiting Approval

edit Railway lines in South-East England:
Main lines:		Arun Valley Line Ashford via Maidstone East Line Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line Brighton Main Line Chatham Main Line East Coastway Hastings Line Channel Tunnel Rail Link Kent Coast Line London–Ashford–Dover Line North Downs Line Portsmouth Direct Line South Western Main Line Thameslink West Coastway West of England Main Line
Commuter lines:		Alton Line Ascot-Guildford Line Bexleyheath Line Caterham Line Catford Loop Chessington Branch Dartford Loop Eastleigh-Fareham Line Eastleigh-Romsey Line Hayes Line Hounslow Loop Mid-Kent Line New Guildford Line North Kent Line Oxted Line Sheerness Line Slough-Windsor & Eton Line South London Line Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Staines to Weybridge Line Sutton Mole Valley Line Tattenham Corner Line Waterloo-Reading Line West London Line
Rural lines:		Brockenhurst-Lymington Line Henley Branch Line Island Line Marlow Branch Line Marshlink Line Medway Valley Line Redhill-Tonbridge Line