A 150-year-old railway station building that has remained almost untouched for more than half a century is to be restored after being bought by a heritage railway.
Ashey Station on the Isle of Wight was built in 1875 for the opening of the Ryde to Newport Railway, but was sold in 1968 after the line closed. Isle of Wight Steam Railway, which reopened the line in 1991, acquired the buildings and neighbouring land in 2025. The purpose is that the company hope to return the station to its 1926 Southern Railway period condition and restore the public rooms. There are also plans to turn the remainder of the property into a holiday let to generate income.
When the Isle of Wight Steam Railway purchased the historic Ashey Station, they sought to enhance the site’s security while preserving its heritage charm. To support the operational needs of a remote rural station, and protect the site they required a robust CCTV solution capable of providing reliable off‑site visibility, despite very limited internet and mobile coverage. Lifeline was selected to deliver a complete security installation tailored to the station’s unique challenges.
Ashey Station’s location presented several obstacles:
Poor traditional internet connectivity in the surrounding rural area, Limited cell coverage, making remote monitoring and alerts unreliable, Heritage considerations, requiring exceptionally tidy, sympathetic installation and Operational need for dependable off‑site signalling and visibility.
Achieving modern security standards in such an environment demanded innovative technology and meticulous planning.
To overcome the connectivity challenge, Lifeline implemented a hybrid communications approach, leveraging:
To ensure stable remote access and monitoring, Lifeline integrated Starlink satellite connectivity. This provided:
Lifeline engineers delivered:
“Good afternoon, I just wanted to say thank you for the security install at Ashey, the engineers have done a fantastic job, nice to see immaculately tidy work and all done efficiently! I’m sure we will be using you again in other areas.”
Lifeline’s combination of technical expertise and innovative connectivity solutions ensured the project’s success—supporting the Railway in preserving history while embracing modern safety standards.
