Other proposals put forward for the future of the railway line have included converting the line to a guided busway, something considered in 2005 and the late 2010s as part of a consultation on the line's future. The first plan for a Solent tunnel to connect the island's railways to the mainland network was authorised in the early 20th century and although work to build a rail tunnel has never started, this proposal has resurfaced several times in more recent history.