David Pugh

Two Island Line users have submitted a 'Letter before Claim' to the Department for Transport and questions whether the DfT proposals for Island Line could amount to the thin edge of the wedge.

The campaign – which includes activists from the local Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties – will be launched next Monday (30th May) with a speech in Newport by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Greg Hands MP.

The recommendations from the Garnet Report were rejected by Isle of Wight councillors in March so members of KILF are calling on the DfT will disregard Christopher Garnett's recommendation that Island Line is excluded from the wider rail franchise.

The group set up to save Island Line, KILF, has responded to the release of the Garnett Island Line report, raising interesting points.

Christopher Garnett's report, commissioned by the council, is due to land tomorrow. In advance, KILF run through the overview as they see it, asking people to act to save their Isle of Wight's trainline.

The campaign group are hoping to attract at least 10,000 signatures from across the UK.

Some serious concerns over the process of the Government consultation on the future of Island Line have been raised. These include a lack of transparency in why the Government is consulting about Island Line on a narrow, pre-determined basis.

Isle of Wight Conservative MP Andrew Turner is of leaving the door open - in his Commons speech - for the "untested alternative that he has championed".

Members of the Keep Island Line in Franchise shares their responses to the Dept for Transport proposal re the future of Island Line trains.

Those campaigning to keep Island Line within the South West franchise will be spitting out their cornflakes at the breakfast table when they read the Department for Transport's proposals for the line.

Campaign group says the transport Taskforce been used “to give false legitimacy to the ambitions of those who wish to take Island Line out of the franchise”.