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.’