Railways on the Isle of Wight

The Cowes & Newport Railway Company began construction of the line in 1859 after an enabling Act of Parliament was passed earlier that year.

[4] Shortly after this, the Isle of Wight Railway (IWR) company built its initial line from Ryde to Shanklin, opening in 1864.

Also in 1864, horse-drawn trams began running along Ryde Pier, connecting ferry services to the town.

Four years of poor connections in Newport meant not enough passengers or freight had been attracted to the line, and the company passed into receivership in 1880.

At this point, it was bought by the Cowes & Newport/Ryde & Newport company, who were legally renamed as the Isle of Wight Central Railway (IWCR).

A short-lived train ferry from Bembridge Harbour to the Hayling Island branch line also started at this point.

[6] Freight services were largely limited to coal,[7] and most of the income for the island's railway companies came from passenger tickets, whose sales varied significantly between the busy summer season and the relative quiet of winter.

The company set about significant investment in the island's rail services, primarily through replacing old locomotives and carriages.

[1] A new named train called The Tourist was set up, running from Ventnor to Freshwater via Sandown, Merstone and Newport.

In 1966, under the recommendations of the Beeching Report, services were withdrawn on the Ryde to Newport and Cowes lines, and between Shanklin and Ventnor.

The line between Ryde and Shanklin was also earmarked for closure by Beeching, but the TUCC stated that this would cause severe hardship and the Minister of Transport refused consent, so management decided to authorise electrification instead.

[12] In 1971, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway began operating on part of the Ryde to Newport line.

Several parts of the network have been turned into "rail trail" cyclepaths, and notably the island's section of National Cycle Route 23 was constructed mainly on the former Sandown-Newport-Cowes line of the Isle of Wight Central Railway.

[22] The new trains were built by Vivarail as third-rail units using D78 Stock bodyshells, and island-based stakeholders including the Isle of Wight Council and Solent Local Enterprise Partnership contributed £1 million to fund reinstatement of a long-removed passing loop at Brading to allow services to run at half-hourly intervals.

[28] The island's MP has also expressed an interest with the Department for Transport for feasibility studies to re-open routes between Wooton and Newport, and between Shanklin and Ventnor.