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Island Line To Be Suspended As Strikes Leave Train Tracks Powerless

Knock-on effects of mainland train strikes will be felt on the Isle of Wight this coming weekend.

Island Line will (literally) be left powerless as staff at the Electrical Control Room in Eastleigh take part in industrial action.

The room provides power to the outer part of the South Western Railway (SWR) network, including Island Line.

It means the service will be off on Saturday evening (20) into Sunday (21). It's the first time the trains here have been impacted by the strikes.

South Western Railway, which runs Island Line, said it is in the process of arranging rail replacement services for Saturday night. 

Staff at Network Rail and more than 2,100 SWR members are set to take strike action on Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August, causing severe disruption.

Commenting, Island Line General Manager Mark Dunn said:

“We are very sorry that the knock-on impact of mainland rail strikes will inconvenience our customers on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

“We will be doing everything we can to keep our customers moving, and we're in the process of arranging rail replacement services for Saturday night.”

Network Rail Southern region managing director John Halsall said:

“I’m so sorry that again we’re having to ask people to change their travel plans because of industrial action. We need 200 highly-trained people to run the railway on our Wessex route, but during the industrial action we only have 29 back up staff. That means we have to make difficult decisions about which lines to keep open and we prioritise routes where we can move the maximum number of passengers with the limited resources we have available, considering things like the impact on the economy, whether those lines serve major hospitals, or if they’re used to keep major freight, such as food, fuel and medicine moving.”

The Island Line will be suspended from 7pm on Saturday until 7am on Sunday 21.

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