Choo Choo!! (Island Line Isle of Wight)

Member Name: newby2

Product:	Island Line Isle of Wight
Date:	13/11/08 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: never late

Disadvantages: only choice

Island Line......

The Island Line is the only Isle of Wight Railway line and you can bet that the trains are pretty much always on time.

The line runs from the top of Ryde pier head all the way along into the town of Shanklin. The stops are as follows.

Ryde Pier Head
Ryde Esplanade
Ryde St Johns
Havenstreet
Brading
Sandown
Lake
Shanklin.

If you were to take the train from the pier head at Ryde all the way into Shanklin the entire trip would take you a little over half an hour but cost you around £5. The trains themselves that operate on the Isle of Wight are in fact old London underground trains from back in the day and when riding them you can feel how old and rickety they are!.

The train route only takes you along the East coast of the Isle of Wight which is a shame as back in the 20's there used to be another steam train that ran a much longer route but this was closed down in the 1950's.

The train can be fairly handy to get to Ryde Pier Head which is where you would go if you were to visit the mainland as a foot passenger. The train links up with the hovercraft that also operates from the end of the pier.

The train begins to run in the fairly early hours of the morning but unfortunately doesn't run to that late at night with the last full train run being around 10.30pm. Because of both the limited train times and the limited number of destinations that the train actually gets to I am not a frequent user of the trains. I do know however that they are never running more than a minute or so late and they do get exceptionally busy in the summer months.

I have used the trains on and off for over 15 years now and I can honestly say even though they may not be the newest or smartest looking trains they do serve their purpose and are always well maintained. The staff are always friendly and helpful (although some of the conductors do look a little strange!!!).

I cant help but give the Island Line Train System on the Isle of Wight a glowing 5 star award and RECOMMEND the service HIGHLY. (well I have no other choice of trains so I'll stick with this one thanks!!)

Summary: a great little train