COULD this be the how Island Line passengers will travel in future?

A ground-breaking train, totally re-furbished from existing rolling stock, could be in the running to replace the ageing 1930s underground stock on Isle of Wight's eight-and-a-half-mile route.

Vivarail based in Warwickshire has been operating for four years and produce completely refurbished trains from ex-London Underground stock dating from the 1980s.

The new Class 230s can either run on third rail, diesel or battery power or combinations of motive power.

They are already set to be introduced to the Marston Vale Line - formerly known as the 'Varsity' Line between Oxford and Cambridge - in December this year.

Vivarail have submitted proposals which have been passed to the Department for Transport, saying that their trains would be suitable for Island Line and that they would fit through tunnels and under bridges along the route.

An article in an article in the October edition of Modern Railway magazine also speculates that the introduction of the class 230s is the preferred option for FirstGroup, who are a majority stakeholder of South Western Railway which runs Island Line.

A decision is expected at the end of this year.