The entire rail service on the Isle of Wight has been shut down for most of the day.
South West Trains, which runs the Island Line between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin, is telling passengers: “We have been informed that a member of staff has been taken ill on the Island Line. This means that we will be unable to run services between 8.45am and 7pm.
“All lines will be blocked.”
A replacement bus service will run for most of the route. The northernmost stretch – which runs out along the pier to Ryde Pier Head station and the ferry to Portsmouth – is inaccessible to normal buses. A replacement minibus will run between Ryde bus station and the end of the pier.
“We are very sorry for any delay or inconvenience that this may cause to your journey,” says the train operator.
The Island Line is just 8.3 miles long, and connects Ryde with Shanklin along the eastern shore of the Isle of Wight, stopping six times en route. The whole journey takes 25 minutes.
During the national rail strikes in the summer, it was the only route in Great Britain unaffected by walk-outs.
Staff sickness is causing widespread train cancellations daily across the country.
At present Avanti West Coast, which runs between London Euston, the West Midlands, northwest England and southern Scotland, is running a much-reduced timetable – partly because of “the current industrial relations climate which has resulted in severe staff shortages in some grades through increased sickness levels”.
From Monday, TransPennine Express is following suit on the West Coast main line , blaming “sustained high levels of sickness and a training backlog” for schedule cuts.
The incoming transport secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, tweeted that she was “looking forward to getting to work on the many challenges and opportunities transport brings”. The MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed replaces Grant Shapps, who was sacked by the new prime minister.
