At its busiest the Pier Head saw 5 trains an hour (1 to Cowes, 2 to Ventnor, 1 terminating at Shanklin, 1 terminating at Sandown). The layout had 2 platforms each with 2 faces. Only the two middle tracks provided a run round facility. Even with fewer trains, there was often a need to shunt stock from one platform to another to free a locomotive.