Isle of Wight Steam Railway - Ferry Problem

The problem though is change costs money that someone has to pay, and no one wants to pay it, The island is in a catch 22, high cost of travelling to and from it, if going by car and at the same time the road network is not built to cope with large volumes of traffic, and any road improvements would risk damaging the very thing people come for, the rural feel of the island, Any new link i think has to be tunneled, and i would say a railway tunnel from somewhere near the lymington end to West wight, and then where does it end ? Sandown,? to provide a link to Ryde ? especially if some trackbed via newport could be used or at a drive on drive off car service depot between the mainland and yarmouth / freshwater providing a 24/7 service all year round, leaving the heavy lorries to use the ferrys.

 

I wonder what the cost would be to build a bridge and who would fund the cost of building a bridge. From what I understand the shortest point between the island and the mainland is about a mile.

 

Be careful what you wish for. That narrow stretch of water and the cost of crossing it keeps out the scrap thieves and other undesirables.
Ray.

 

Yeah you might wake up to find someones nicked the two Ivatts seing as we are constantly being told their the perfect answer to everyones motive power needs

 

Why? Like the ferries, it would have to be funded somehow. There might also be a need to limit the amount of traffic allowed over the bridge to a level the island’s roads could cope with - the most likely ways to do this are toll charges or parking charges. So I reckon we’ll be stuck with the ferries.

 

The problem of course is that the ferry services are run by commercial operators seeking to maximise their return rather than as a public service

Perhaps the IoW & The Scillies might like to become part of Scotland instead where these matters are arranged better

 

So what do you regard as a fair bridge toll or ferry fare? Why single out the Isle of Wight to be penalised with a massive cost to cover 3 miles, yes 3 miles.

 

This is not coming from me, this is stuff I have read on other threads, but apparently the lowering of ferry fares has meant chaos on these islands in the summer, they are inundated with holiday makers, more than the islands infrastructure can cope with. There is a fine balance to be made, between making travel affordable for those who need it, and keeping it high enough to prevent too many people coming onto the island.

 

I must have missed them lowering the ferry fares, when did that happen? Incidentally I am not saying that the road system could cope with extra traffic at present. Small improvements to junctions and a Medina river crossing would make an enormous difference.

 

I seem to recall seeing plans for a Victorian railway tunnel on display somewhere. Lymington Town station perhaps.

 

Not sure, this is just something I remember reading somewhere else, can't remember where or when. So it is possible that I've made it up, but I think my point about balance may still be valid. Of course, I don't live on the island and haven't been over when I've been responsible for a car ferry ticket, so there's only so much I can validly comment on!

 

Just look at the video on YouTube entitled "An Ivatt in the Purbecks!" for proof positive.

Now back to the issue at hand. Best solution to me would be a competing vehicular ferry if additional ports could be found on either side of the Solent. which is a big "if".

For the fixed link a bridge would, I think, be ruled out. Although relatively few large ships travel past the Needles, there would have to be considerable headroom and there would be frequent stoppages due to high winds which the car ferries can usually cope with. Road facilities in the Western Wight and the New Forest area are nothing special. Go further east and the spectre of higher clearances needed for larger vessels enters.

So it's a tunnel then but for road or rail, coming out where. I have a nasty feeling that potential traffic levels will mean it costs as much as the ferries to use. The fares quoted by the people behind the present proposals are such that I will need convincing that they have much idea at all.

PH

 

Surely it's not beyond the wit of man to have lower fares for island residents, and maybe IoWSR volunteers too...

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To me that sounds like a sensible idea, especially as one could use something like a driving licence as proof of address, which shouldn't add any massive costs in terms of administration or producing ID. The issue could come with the company which runs the ferries which could well object to lowering fares for some people, which could open up the question of subsidies from local government, which might not be willing or able. Then again, it could be one of those ideas that seems obvious but for some reason those in charge seem reluctant to adopt it...

 

If you want he best deals you have to go on line and book in advance, when i went over i took advantage of a Hovercraft special deal during a otherwise quieter time , for them, £5 return rather than £15 you would normally pay, but then these are at times when most of us are not able to due to work etc, and it was at a time when much of the season is over, but it suited my plan for the day to go and photo locations that hold special memories for me.
As i see it, short of going at times when travel is low so the ferries need to fill space theres not a lot you can do except plan ahead, the ferries already do offer discount to Island residents, but i'm not sure how much of a discount they offer, or if its time related, ie at a time thats its un suitable for anyone living on the island to want to travel, As i said previously, its a catch 22, the island needs to attract more tourists attract more and better paying jobs, but at the same time they risk losing much of what is special to the island if too many people bring their cars with them, due to the nature of the transport system and island roads.

 

I haven’t a clue. My point is that any transport scheme either has to be self-funding from the future income or it has to be funded by public subsidies, for ever. If the latter, all you have to do is convince the government to take on that responsibility.

 

Went to a family funeral on the mainland on Monday, about the only time I get to see the rest of my family as everyone living so far apart now. Would have liked to have spent more time with them but couldn't because of the long drive back to Southampton to catch our booked ferry and the LONG wait for the next one if we missed it. With a bridge or tunnel I could have stayed on with the knowledge that I could have crossed back whenever I arrived at the Solent. Have the same problem whenever visiting daughter who lives in Birmingham it's a long drive mostly on roads that can be very busy at best and some times blocked by accidents and so no real idea how long the drive will take. So you have to take best guess on when to leave and which ferry to book. If you miss the booked ferry then could have a long wait for next and if you do arrive too early often asked to pay even more to switch to earlier crossing!

 

Whatever the toll ends up at (and it's intended never to be free) it'll be a lot less than ferry fares and never get to the £120 day return we had to pay one August to go to a family christening on the mainland! The island has lost one of its big pop concerts in the main due to the ferry fares that sky rocketed over the festival period!

 

I am sorry but you and I just cannot assume this. The capital cost will be great and will have to be serviced. Any tunnel, rail or road will need to be ventilated and this will cost money including the meticulous servicing of the air filters. One of the reasons why I cannot take the present tunnel proposals seriously is the impossibly low charges quoted, if these were correctly reported.

PH