Update: This article published before midday on 1st April was an April Fool.
Less than a week after the 50th anniversary of Dr Richard Beeching’s radical report to reduce the railway network by 4,000 miles, exciting news for the Isle of Wight is announced.
Island-wide network to be re-established
The Isle of Wight council have announced that as well as the £360m grant from the Government for the PFI Highways scheme, an equal amount is being invested to re-establish the Island-wide rail network.
Following the seven year project, which will see a boost for British train manufacturer Bombardier – who are contracted to provide state-of-the art rolling stock – residents and visitors will be able to leave their cars at home and use the re-instated rail network to travel across the Island.
Closure resulted in deep depression
The closure of the Shanklin to Ventnor line, following Beeching’s ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’ report, resulted in a deep depression for the town which has taken decades to recover from. The Ryde to Cowes line was another casualty of the reshaping, which resulted in the loss of 70,000 British Railways jobs over three years.
No longer will families living in Ventnor be able to say, “I’ve never been to Ryde.” Youngsters living in Merstone will soon be able to hop on a train and head to coast and residents in Calbourne will no longer feel cut-off from the rest of the Island.
Compensation for garden grabbers
Residents who have claimed former track to increase their gardens will be compensated as part of the scheme and wherever former track has been built upon properties will be moved to more more convenience locations.
Tegretty: “A lifelong dream”
Senior Isle of Wight council director responsible for winning the Government grant, Ian Tegretty told OnTheWight, “This has been a lifelong dream of mine for many years and one that at last will become a reality. There are far too many cars on the road and no everyone is agile enough to ride a bicycle, so re-instating the railways makes perfect sense.”
Over 100 unemployed residents (of all ages) will be offered positions and apprenticeships with Bombardier to help create the new rolling stock.
Ian Tegretty went onto say, “Once completed, it will boost the Island’s green credentials enormously and leave the new smooth surfaces of Island Roads free for long-boarders to return to their passion. An activity that has been curtailed due to the poor condition of the roads due to unfortunate under-investment for the last few years.”
