Island Line

If you arrive by the Wightlink catamaran from Portsmouth then you'll be stepping onto an Island Line train at Ryde Pier Head. As the name suggest the station is located on the end of the Ryde town pier, and was opened by the Portsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway in 1880. The route extends for 8.5 miles to Shanklin and in 1967 was converted to electric operation using 630vDc third rail, in order to accommodate ex-London Underground stock. At the time of writing in 2021 the line is preparing to receive the third generation of London Underground electric trains, continuing the tradition started in the sisters.