Restoring Your Railway Fund: Isle of Wight railway reopening study
IWBRUG response to stakeholder consultation:
The Isle of Wight Bus and Rail Users’ Group (IWBRUG) is pleased to respond to the stakeholder consultation as part of the study of options for the future development of railways on the Island.
The IWBRUG exists to promote the interests of bus and rail users in the Island and to campaign for improvements in public transport. We work to improve the lot of those for whom it is a necessity and to encourage its wider use. Our interests range from the general, such as concessionary fares, to the particular, such as co-ordination between bus and ferry services and Island Line trains, down to the detail of specific routes in local districts.
We hold members' meetings every month in Newport and twice a year - (normally January and July) - we organise a public meeting, where representatives of the bus and train operators and the council attend to address the public, answer questions and outline service changes.
The options under consideration are re-opening of the routes from Ryde – Newport and Shanklin – Ventnor. We would like to make the following comments and suggestions regarding these options.
Ryde – Newport
The Ryde – Newport corridor currently has a good bus service which runs every 10 minutes. The most serious issue affecting public transport travel on the corridor is the traffic queuing delay westbound on Fairlee Road and Staplers approaching Coppins Bridge junction, as shown in the picture below. This delay has caused bus travel times to increase from 30 minutes in 2005 to 35 minutes in 2020 and up to 42 minutes in the morning peak. This also affects travel from East Cowes – Newport. Any improvements on this corridor should provide quicker public transport travel times for most passengers.