Ryde St John's Road is a railway station on the

Island Line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...

, and serves the town of

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. The station is south of Ryde Pier Head—the Island Line's northern

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

History

When the station opened in 1864, it was known as ''Ryde railway station'', as it was the northern terminus of the

Isle of Wight Railway The Isle of Wight Railway was a railway company on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom; it operated of railway line between Ryde and Ventnor. It opened the first section of line from Ryde to Sandown in 1864, later extending to Ventnor in 1866. ...

at the time. Rather than a railway, a tramway continued northwards to where the current

Ryde Pier Head railway station Ryde Pier Head railway station is one of three stations in the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Situated at the end of the town's pier, it is adjacent to the terminal for the Wightlink fast catamaran service connecting the island with Port ...

stands; the railway was extended to

Ryde Pier Ryde Pier is an early 19th century pier serving the town of Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. It is the world's oldest seaside pleasure pier. Ryde Pier Head railway station is at the sea end of the pier, and Ryde Espl ...

in 1880.

Stationmasters

*Mr. Wells until 1865 *Robert Edward Wright 1865 - 1868 (formerly station master at Shanklin) *Mr. Hopgood until 1874 *Charles Penty 1871 - 1874 (formerly station master at Shanklin) *Mark Gregory 1874 - 1890 (afterwards station master at Sandown) *Albert Shaw from 1890 (formerly station master at Sandown) *Walter Daish ca. 1894 - 1908 (afterwards station master at Brading) *Charles Herbert Colenutt 1908 - 1913 (afterwards station master at Shanklin) *George Henry French 1913 - 1930 (also station master at Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier Head) *Malcolm J. Bucket 1930 - 1931 (formerly station master at Fratton, also station master at Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier Head) *H.E. Millichap ca. 1935 - 1941 (also station master at Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier Head) *T.F. Thompson 1941 - 1949 (also station master at Ryde Esplanade and Ryde Pier Head) *T. Rowley Cliff ca. 1951

Depot and signalling

Adjacent to the railway station is

Ryde Traincare Depot Ryde Traincare Depot is a railway traction maintenance depot, situated in Ryde, Isle of Wight, to the east of Ryde St John's Road railway station. The depot is operated by Island Line, is allocated the Island Line fleet of the British Rail Clas ...

: the Island Line's

traction maintenance depot The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...

, where the maintenance and storage of the Island Line's Class 484 trains takes place. Since 1989, signalling for the Island Line has been centralised to the station's signal box.

Future developments

It has been suggested that the

Isle of Wight Steam Railway The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway on the Isle of Wight. The railway passes through of countryside from to station, passing through the small village of Havenstreet, where the line has a station, headquarters and a depo ...

might be extended from Smallbrook Junction to Ryde St John's Road in the future, but there are currently no ''official'' proposals.

Services

As of May 2022, there are two trains in each direction per hour during the peak and one during the off-peak. Services call at all stations except Smallbrook Junction, which operates only during steam operating dates and times, and only one service an hour calls at Ryde Pier Head. In addition, two early morning services and one late evening service operate with Ryde only, the morning 06:05 departure to Ryde Espalande being the UK's shortest distance rail service.

Gallery

File:RydeSJR-fromfootbridge.jpg, Viewed from the footbridge, looking at platforms 2 and 3, along with the depot building File:Signal Box, Ryde St Johns Road Station - geograph.org.uk - 531544.jpg, Looking south from the station's footbridge; the Island Line's signalbox is visible on the right File:St John's Road Station, Ryde - geograph.org.uk - 836077.jpg, Platform 1, looking towards Ryde tunnel and the northern terminus of the line: Ryde Pier Head File:Ryde St. John's Road Railway station 1971.jpg, Ryde St John's Road station in 1971 File:Ryde St John's Road Locomotive Shed geograph-2662973-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, Ex-LSW 0-4-4T outside St John's Road Locomotive Shed in 1954

References

External links

{{coord, 50.724, N, 1.157, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Railway stations on the Isle of Wight DfT Category F2 stations Former Isle of Wight Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864 Island Line railway stations (Isle of Wight) Ryde