The Isle of Wight’s Island Line trains have been repainted to celebrate the fleet’s 70th birthday.

The six units are being decked out in heritage colours of burgundy and cream, which they sported in their former life as London Tube trains.

On Friday (18th January), unit 004 became the first of the vintage trains undergoing the year-long programme to return to passenger service. 

HSBC Rail sold the rolling stock for £1 to Stagecoach South Western Trains which operates a 10-year Stagecoach franchise made up of the Island Line and South West Trains.   At the time the rolling stock leasing company also promised the funding for the repaint, which cost £80,000.

South West Trains managing director Stewart Palmer said:

“These units have done a sterling service of ferrying passengers to their destinations for decades – in fact they celebrate their 70th anniversary this year - and I think you’ll agree with me that they don’t look bad for septuagenarians.

“Thank you to everyone who has made this possible – HSBC Rail (UK) which funded the programme, Specialist Compliant Coatings which carried out the repaint and our own Island Line engineering team which worked hard to get the bodywork ready for the repainting.”

Representatives from the Isle of Wight Community Rail Partnership, which encourages greater use of the eight-and-a-half-mile railway, also attended.  The Island Line became a Community Rail Route in March 2006, in line with the Department for Transport’s Community Rail Development Strategy published in 2004.

The Class 483 rolling stock, which originally entered service with London Underground in 1938, comprises 2-car electric units which run 68 services a day between Ryde Pier and Shanklin with each unit capable of covering up to 70,000 miles a year.
Related Links: Transport Briefing  Island Line

Isle of Wight Community News @Island Pulse.