Wightbus route 16

Wightbus route 16 or the Rail link service is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Wightbus between St Lawrence and Shanklin via Ventnor Botanic Garden, Ventnor and Bonchurch. It was introduced in 2004 to restore a rail connection to Ventnor and St Lawrence, whose railway stations were closed in the mid-twentieth century.

History

Previous Rail connections to Ventnor

The Isle of Wight Railway opened their Ventnor station in 1866, with another company's Ventnor West branch line reaching St Lawrence in 1897, then a separate station at Ventnor West in 1900. The Ventnor West branch closed in 1952, and despite its popularity with residents and visitors the main IWR Ventnor station was closed under the recommendations of the Beeching Report in 1966. Trains were to be replaced by enhanced bus services.

By the 1990s, buses to and from Ventnor were not GeneRally providing a connection to or from trains at Shanklin station. An attempt to run connecting services as an offshoot from the Ventnor town bus route (31) in the late 1990s failed to run at a profit and was withdrawn.

Introduction of Rail Link bus

The rail link service is a relatively new route, starting in October 2004. Representatives of the regeneration partnerships of Ventnor and Shanklin and Ventnor Railway Association campaigned for around a year to get it started and contributed funds together with Island Line, the South East England Development Agency and the Isle of Wight Council. As well as linking Ventnor to the railway, it also gave St Lawrence, then poorly served by public transport, a better bus service into Ventnor.

However, the service was plagued by late running and missed connections when it was first introduced. Despite assurances that the route would be kept clear, it seemed the problem stemmed from the bus being unable to pass parked vehicles on the route as it was originally designed. The intention was that on alternate journeys in each direction (ie: every 2 hours each way) the bus would run via Bonchurch village on its way between Ventnor and Shanklin. Within a week the route had to be amended so that all journeys ran along the A3055 road and avoided Bonchurch Village. This led to some annoyance among the population of Bonchurch, who had hoped for improved transport. The option of running these buses via Bonchurch village once more has recently been raised.

History of 'route 16'

The route's number is a reference to an older bus service run by Southern Vectis until the early 1990s. This route ran from Ryde through to Ventnor, and the Shanklin-Ventnor section is revived by the Wightbus service.

Services

An hourly service is operated in each direction during the daytime. There is no evening or Sunday service. Journeys are timed specifically to meet trains at Shanklin. A single deck bus in a modified Wightbus livery is used to operate the route with 'Rail link service' applied to both sides.

Passengers are able to buy through-tickets to any IslandLine station and Portsmouth Harbour, and return bus tickets, which are unavailable on any other island bus service.

See also

• Transportation on the Isle of Wight

External links

• Wightbus details on the Isle of Wight Council's website - iwight.com
• Timetable on Traveline - traveline.org.uk