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Island Line Services May Be Suspended For 'Some Time'

Island Line services may be suspended for 'some time', South Western Railway has warned.

A fault with the service's one remaining operational unit means there have been no trains since yesterday morning (Friday).

A rail replacement bus service is in place and will continue over the weekend due to the planned engineering works.

A spokesperson for South Western Railway could not say when the service would be likely to return, warning it 'may be some time'. They said:

"Our engineering team will look at all options to bring one of our units back into use as soon as possible but this unfortunately may take some time due to the age of the current units and the associated issues...

"...Once again we would like to apologise for the inconvenience this causes to our customers and we will provide updated information on when the train service will resume as soon as we have it."

From 4 January 2021 until 31 March 2021, the entire service will grind to a halt.

Work is being carried out to deliver the biggest transformation to the line’s infrastructure since the line was electrified in 1967, as previously reported by Isle of Wight Radio.

island line
The news trains.

New Island Line trains have already arrived on the Isle of Wight. You can see their arrival here.

A spokesperson added:

"This [current suspension] emphasises the importance of the replacement trains now being brought across to the Island in readiness for when the line re-opens after the blockade in April."

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