The line to Ryde Pier Head, which has been closed since October last year to allow a major upgrade of the 143-year old pier, will reopen to an hourly service of Island Line trains by 10 June, according to Network Rail and South Western Railway.

After the engineering work had been delayed by winter weather, it had been feared that trains would not return until much later this year.

However, work has been going well and is now entering the final stages. Engineers have reinstated 172 metres of track and 280 sleepers following the repairs and painting of the steelwork along the 686m structure.

Over the course of the winter, engineers braved the elements and continued refurbishing and strengthening the structure, but the difficulties of working in a marine environment, including high tides and bad weather during December and January, meant work had to be suspended for safety reasons.

Trains started running again twice an hour between Ryde Esplanade and Shanklin on 2 April.

Further work to extend the life of the pier will be carried out in October, after the summer season peak on the Isle of Wight. Engineers will lay 396 metres of new track and 660 sleepers, while also realigning the track and renewing signalling equipment.

Network Rail’s Wessex route director Mark Killick said: ‘We’re sorry this work has taken longer than we had hoped, primarily due to the challenging winter weather conditions. We have remained focused on making sure that despite these challenges Ryde Pier Head station is open throughout the busy summer season.’

source= http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2023/04/18-ryde-pier-to-reopen-for.html