Swanage Railway - return of passenger services and reopening to Wareham

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Swanage railway reconnection to network to go ahead

A Dorset town will be re-connected to the national rail network, restoring a link broken almost 40 years ago.

The Swanage Railway Trust had to raise ^3m so Network Rail can connect the Swanage line to the main network for the first time since 1972.

Purbeck District Council announced its support on Thursday a week after Dorset County Council gave its backing.

The funding is needed for re-signalling of the Wareham to Swanage branch line at Worgret Junction.

Once the work is completed regular passenger train services will resume from Wareham to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

The line is currently maintained by the Swanage Railway Trust which runs regular steam train trips between Norden and Swanage.

Councillor Beryl Ezzard, Purbeck's housing and social issues spokesperson, said: "The proposal helps to underpin one of the targets set out under the council's priority of helping all people access services locally. It has been a long journey to get to this point, but we can now progress to once again linking the district by rail, which will have enormous benefits for residents, commuters and visitors, and relieve congestion in the district."

Dorset County Council will now confirm to Network Rail that the reconnection will be included in the Purbeck Transportation Strategy.

The strategy was set up to improve movement around the district, taking traffic away from the congested A351 by using alternative forms of transport, a spokesman from the district council said.

[Cruithne3753]

Hmm, interesting... been considering a quick weekend excursion down Swanage way, the weak link in the journey being Wareham-Norden... either wait how long for a bus, or it's an hour's trudge with a good weight on my back.  Other than that, it's finding a good place to camp for the night with maybe just a couple of days notice.

[grahame]

Hmm, interesting... been considering a quick weekend excursion down Swanage way, the weak link in the journey being Wareham-Norden... either wait how long for a bus, or it's an hour's trudge with a good weight on my back.  Other than that, it's finding a good place to camp for the night with maybe just a couple of days notice.

Look also at the bus to Swanage via the Sandbanks Ferry - still a bus ride, but a fun one!

[John R]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2480068/Passengers-escape-injuries-as-open-topped-bus-overturns-in-Dorset.html

Sometimes more exciting than you might wish it to be.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

wow that could have been horrific

[JayMac]

From the Dorset Echo:

Train enthusiasts are chuffed after scooping ^3million to link Swanage Railway to the main line. They hope it will be full steam ahead for the project after Dorset and Purbeck councils together pledged cash for vital main line re-signalling work by Network Rail. The works will keep hopes alive for a permanent year-round train service to run from the main line at Wareham to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Swanage Railway Trust chairman Steve Doughty said: ^We are absolutely delighted at this important once in a generation opportunity and long-term commitment to the development of public transport in Dorset. It keeps the door open for an all-year-round community train service and so deliver one of the Swanage Railway^s original goals from 1972, when the last daily service ran. We still have a long way to go but this is the most important step.^

Purbeck District Council approved the upgrade of the connection of the Swanage Railway to the national rail network as part of its Purbeck Transportation Strategy at a meeting in Wareham. Dorset County Council also voted to support the project. Up to ^3million across three years will come from a transport development fund which property developers pay into ^ the money being collected by Purbeck District Council and spent by Dorset County Council as the transport authority for the Isle of Purbeck.

Network Rail plans to re-signal the main London to Weymouth line between Poole and Wool during 2012.  If Worgret Junction is re-signalled at the same time it will cost ^3million. If the junction is re-signalled at a later date, it could cost up to ^10million.

The next step is for the Swanage Railway to take responsibility for the three and a half miles of Network Rail single line between Worgret Junction, Furzebrook and Motala which is the start of the Swanage Railway tracks to Corfe Castle and Swanage. Once acquired, the Swanage Railway would upgrade the three and a half miles of single line to the standards required for a regular service to Wareham.

Hack School Lesson #27: Whenever writing a positive story about steams trains be sure to describe those involved as "chuffed". Also phrases such as "full steam ahead" (although nautical in origin) and "back on track" should be included.

Should the story be less positive then phrases such as "off the rails" and "end of the line" should be used. 

[readytostart]

And if it needs re-thinking, then 'All change!'

[JayMac]

And of course, if writing a news story about a rail project that has failed, then it must be described as having "hit the buffers".

[paul7575]

Project announced - 'green lighted' - 
Project then 'has brakes applied'
Project then 'given red light', or 'off the rails'...

Reminder for BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) journalists though.

Last year there were about three 'first trains' to or from Swanage via Wareham reported by the BBC. For these to have taken place, the Swanage Railway used its existing connection, so it isn't being 'reconnected'. It is being resignalled for normal use...

Paul 

[inspector_blakey]

Now, you won't find a bigger supporter of the railway preservation movement than me, and I don't wish to sound too cynical, but I really have to question whether this is an optimal use of Purbeck District Council's money. To use that dread phrase, "in the current economic climate" if I was a council tax payer in that area I would have serious reservations about whether splashing GBP 3m on what is essentially a vanity project for the Swanage Railway represents a good use of money that I suspect could be more usefully spent elsewhere. After all, the Swanage railway is going to remain essentially a tourist operation, since if it was given over to provide any serious attempt at forming part of a public transport system that would jeopardize its whole character.

[autotank]

I agree with you, but questions should also be asked of NR^» (Network Rail - home page). How can a price tage of ^3 million be justified for what surely is a fairly basic junction upgrade. OK a new crossover probably needs to be installed, but it only needs to be a 15-25mph one. I think NR should spend some time at a few heritage railways to learn how to do projects more cost effectively! Some of the costs associated with the modern railway are truly eye watering and I can rarely see any justification.

[MrC]

How can a price tage of ^3 million be justified for what surely is a fairly basic junction upgrade.

I'm guessing it's not just a basic junction upgrade. The whole line between Parkstone and Moreton is being resignalled and will be controlled by Bournemouth ASC. So all the logic in the ASC has to be a fair bit more involved to handle the boundary between an axle counter area and a traditional absolute block area. This all has to be tested to destruction by Siemens (presumably as I think they provided the original kit for Bournemouth). There may also be added complications for having to double-block Swanage trains (depending on what derogations, if any, they get - eg TPWS^▸ (Train Protection and Warning System), OTMR^▸ (On Train Monitoring Recorder)). Depending on the layout there may need to be reversible working which might not otherwise be needed. Then there's the possibility that NR^» (Network Rail - home page) might have had plans for Worgret Jcn to be plain lined as without the Swanage connection there's no real reason for anything to go down there any more.

OK a new crossover probably needs to be installed, but it only needs to be a 15-25mph one. I think NR should spend some time at a few heritage railways to learn how to do projects more cost effectively! Some of the costs associated with the modern railway are truly eye watering and I can rarely see any justification.

Is there definitely going to be a new crossover (see above - there's already a crossover each side of Wareham station)? The speed of the crossover doesn't really come into it. Plus there's a /huge/ difference between what's acceptable on heritage railways and what happens on main lines nowadays.

[autotank]

I've heard that if the ^3m was not raised then NR^» (Network Rail - home page) would be obliged to maintain the current arrangements when re-signalling. Therefore the junction must be retained it's just a question of if it is upgraded to regular passenger carrying standard or occasional freight use. Therefore some infrastructure needs to be maintained at the junction, and the additional cost of upgrading I find really hard to believe would cost ^3m - given the large amount of resource already commited to the Dorset resignalling the additional cost of the junction work surely can't be that much.

Out of interest how much did the WSR junction upgrade cost a few years ago?

[MrC]

Therefore the junction must be retained it's just a question of if it is upgraded to regular passenger carrying standard or occasional freight use.

If they retained the existing Jcn then they'd just need to keep a ground frame (either locally or remotely unlocked) and a position light signal or two somewhere all of which would be vastly simpler than a fully signalled automated link to an AB area. There really is a huge difference. Think about how the system is going to have to prove a route for a Swanage train, or a non-Swanage train, plus any potential conflicting movements. How will it interface with Wareham foot crossing? The ASC is set up so that a signaller can set up a route from an entry point to an exit point and then basically sit back and watch. Adding the Swanage, especially if they're having to cater for routes from Swanage past Wareham (eg to the proposed Holton Heath park & ride, or to Poole, or outside the ASC area, or in the Weymouth direction) means adding a whole new layer of complexity in train routing, the logic and software to handle it and the testing needed to get certified. That's where the real costs are, not in nuts and bolts at junctions - although also bear in mind that for the fully signalled option the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) system would have to extend for some way onto the branch.

I, like you, don't like the cost of this but I can see where some of it is coming from.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Swanage Railway closure anniversary marked by signalman

A retired Network Rail signalman is to return to a Dorset railway to mark the 40th anniversary of its closure.

The last British Rail train from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Wareham ran on New Year's Day in 1972.

Since the closure, Swanage Railway has been rebuilt from scratch by volunteers and ran its first passenger train in 2009.

Bob Richards, the signalman on the last journey in 1972, will be joined by former passengers for the anniversary.

Those passengers include Peter Sills and his father Frederick Sills, from Wareham, as well as Malcolm Munro, from Wool.

Peter Sills and Mr Munro will bring along their last British Rail train tickets from 1972, which cost 25p and 50p respectively.

Mr Sills, volunteer chairman of the Swanage Railway Company, said: "When I rode on that last train as a 14-year-old with my father in 1972, I never ever thought the railway would come back - especially when the tracks were ripped up for scrap during the summer of 1972."

Mr Richards said: "It will be a strange feeling to stand on Corfe Castle station exactly 40 years to the day since I signalled the last British Rail train from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Wareham on that dark and very cold night back in January, 1972.

"It was a very sad day indeed and no-one thought the railway would ever come back."