Concerns have been raised by an Island commuter that now the upgraded Island Line has opened (seven months later than originally planned) there are fewer connections with Wightlink catamarans.
They also say many off-peak, weekday journey times between Island Line stations and Waterloo or Victoria will take much longer than they were prior to the upgrade, due to the timetable introduced in May .
38 minute wait at Portsmouth Harbour
The Island commuter explains that many busy weekday off-peak journeys to Waterloo will now involve a 38 minute wait at Portsmouth Harbour, compared to six minutes in the pre-Covid timetable.
This applies to the 09:45, 10:45, 12:45 and 13:45 sailings from Ryde Pier.
Six minutes to connect
In addition, the 07:45 catamaran only has six minutes to connect with the 07:13 train to Waterloo.
This is obviously an important train for Islanders who work or need to attend meetings or courses in London. As we all know, the ferry being delayed just slightly due to shipping movements can lead to connections not being made in time.
MP raised issues
The Island commuter has written to the Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, as well as members of the Isle of Wight council.
The MP’s office replied saying,
“This has been raised with transport providers on your behalf.”
Jordan: Council are powerless
The Cabinet member for Transport and Infrastructure, Cllr Phil Jordan, sent a lengthy reply to the Island commuter (seen by News OnTheWight), added adding that the council are “powerless to directly affect or impose any alternative operational methods”.
Cllr Jordan said he continues to “make representations to all transport operators to implement a sustainable service delivery that takes account of each other’s operating timetables and service methods, and will continue to do so”.
Other issues
The examples above are not the only concerns the Island commuter has. They share some of the other issues below:
- The last ferry from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde pier is now 20:20, before Covid it was 22:45. This means that the latest someone can leave Waterloo and travel back to Wroxall using public transport is 18:30, before Covid you could leave Waterloo at 21:00 if you caught a bus from Ryde.
- Southern Railway’s Portsmouth to Victoria service now mostly starts and terminates at Portsmouth and Southsea one step short of the Harbour, this was an important service for those traveling to Gatwick Airport or Croydon and another inconvenience especially those with heavy luggage, poor mobility or pushchairs.
- There now two hour gaps in the catamaran service as the 11:45 and 14:45 sailings no longer operate
- The last catamaran to the Mainland, at the now much earlier time of 20:52, only has a five minutes connection with the 21:19 train to Waterloo, again that’s not enough to allow for even a very small delay.
News OnTheWight put a number of questions to SWR last week, but they tell us that Salisbury rail crash that took place on Sunday has meant a delay in getting a response. We’ll update once we hear back.
‘Specification for services’ consultation
South Western Railway are currently holding a consultation on ‘specification for services’. They say,
The December 2022 timetable is our opportunity to plan for a long-term timetable that will retain the reliability improvements we’ve made, meet the forecast demand and provide value for the taxpayer while balancing other local and national priorities.
Public unable to comment on consultation
Members of the public – the ones who use the service – are not able to respond to the consultation, as SWR say they are:
“… consulting with a defined set of organisations, which have a strategic or representative role rather than the wider community. This includes all MPs and district and county councillors across our network, as well as passenger groups amongst others.”
So if you have feedback about a ‘specification for services’ rather than ‘specific trains or a timetable’ then write to your councillor or the Isle of Wight MP and ask them to represent your views in the consultation.
