This in from the office of Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Andrew Turner. Ed
Andrew Turner has said he is pleased that the franchise awarding process of the South Western franchise which includes Island Line is over. The Government have announced that a joint venture between First Group and MTR will operate the railway for the next seven years, until August 2024.
The Island’s MP commented:
“Now that the franchising process is over we can all start to move forward. I very much welcome the Government’s commitment to finding a sustainable way forward for the Island Line service. They have never said there can be no subsidy, but it is clearly unsustainable to continue putting £3m a year into this service. The new operators have been tasked with working with the Isle of Wight Council, and with elections in the offing, clearly nothing concrete can be done before those are over.
“The Government actively encouraged the Isle of Wight Council to set up an independent taskforce to look at the Island’s future transport needs in a holistic way.
“To their credit the Island Independent Group did that and I understand the taskforce’s first report will be published shortly after the elections in May. That will be an important document to open a dialogue with the new operators and the Government and I will certainly be taking part in those discussions.
“This is an opportunity for the Island to get some innovative thinking and some serious investment into our transport infrastructure. I hope that all involved will try to find a constructive way forward to make the most of this opportunity.”
