The IWCR Today
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway operates part of the former Ryde & Newport railway between Smallbrook Junction and Wootton. A station built at Smallbrook Junction in 1991 provides cross-platform interchange with the Island Line.
The increasing population of the Isle of Wight and increasing traffic on its small roads has led to repeated discussion of whether it would be viable to reopen the Ryde & Newport and Cowes & Newport lines. Newport now has 24,000 inhabitants. Cowes has 17,000 and also handles busy ferry traffic to and from Southampton. Road and property developments now cover part of the line through Newport. This has led the island's local council to consider the possibility of a tramway rather than a statutory railway.
Read more about this topic: Isle Of Wight Central Railway
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