Swanage Railway - return of passenger services and reopening to Wareham

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

From The Dorset Echo http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9516625.Purbeck_rail_link_a_step_nearer/?ref=ms

A dream to run regular trains from a Dorset branch onto the main line is one step closer to reality.
 
Oil giant BP^» (Beyond Petroleum (Former name - British Petroleum) - home page) says it will pay for a crucial ^500,000 level crossing on the Swanage Railway.
 
The crossing near Norden is required before regular trains can run between Swanage and the railway network at Wareham - currently they only run to Norden.
 
The donation from BP comes after it sold its majority shareholding in the Wytch Farm oilfield in Purbeck to Perenco.
 
The other major improvement needed before trains can run to Wareham is a ^3 million re-signalling project at Worgret Junction near the main line which is due to be completed by May next year.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Dorset Echo:

Minister to open signal box

Transport minister Theresa Villiers will make tracks to a Dorset heritage railway to officially open a new signal box. She will visit the Swanage Railway tomorrow for the ceremony at Corfe Castle before travelling on a steam train down the relaid Purbeck line.

The signal box will enable regular trains to travel onto the main line towards Wareham, a dream of Swanage Railway volunteers since the line was rebuilt. It will be connected to Network Rail^s signalling centre once the ^33million Poole to Wool re-signalling scheme is complete next year.

The signal box was built at Corfe Castle station in 2008 costing ^48,000. It was made to look like an original Victorian box which had stood on the same site and won a heritage award.

Corfe Castle signal box project manager Mike Whitwam said: ^We^re delighted the Minister of State for Transport has accepted our invitation to open the new Corfe Castle signal box. It^s a tremendous honour and an acknowledgement of the signal box^s importance as part of the re-instatement of regular passenger trains between Swanage and Wareham.^

[JayMac]

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

A modern passenger train has travelled on a Dorset heritage railway line for the first time in more than 40 years.

The SouthWest Trains diesel train travelled on the Swanage Railway to highlight work to reinstate the Swanage to Wareham passenger service.

The volunteer-run line recently won a ^1.47m government Coastal Communities Fund grant to upgrade the track.

It closed in 1972 after the Beeching Report. Chairman Peter Sills described the new work as "Beeching in reverse".

Invited guests travelled on the train from Bournemouth on the main network, on to Wareham and Swanage.

Phil Dominey of SouthWest Trains said it was a "historic journey", coming 50 years after the Beeching report which led to the closure of many UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail lines including services in Dorset.

The line was rebuilt as a steam railway tourist attraction in the 1980s and 90s.

The passenger service, connecting the line to the national rail network, is expected to begin in spring 2015. It is thought it could create up to 50 jobs in the area.

Worth pointing out that this line was not ear-marked for closure in Beeching's The Reshaping of British Railways report. It was Barbara Castle in late 1967 who signed off on the closure plans after the line failed to meet the criteria for subsidy for a social need. The line struggled on for another 4 years whilst arguments about the social need and the ability of replacement bus services to cope, raged. It finally closed to passengers in January 1972.

Another example of a closure for which Beeching is unfairly blamed.

[Electric train]

Another example of a closure for which Beeching is unfairly blamed.

Quite true, Beeching did set out the formula which BRB^‡(resolve) and DoT continued to use for a decade or more to close lines and stations .......... it's all history now the great thing is that there is some reversals

[paul7575]

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

A modern passenger train has travelled on a Dorset heritage railway line for the first time in more than 40 years since last December...

Quote adjusted...

Paul

[ROGace]

not quite true,

a virgin cross country voyager went down the line some years ago...http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news159.htm

i m very pleased in the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) trial and that i am sure one day regular London services will start again

roger, dorset.

[CLPGMS]

I think that I am correct in saying that the visit of SouthWest Train's Class 159 was the first occasion when one of the normal train operating companies has operated over the Swanage branch carrying passengers.  No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong.

There have been visits by TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) before (e.g. the Virgin Voyager and a SWT^▸ (South West Trains) Class 158) but, as far as I am aware, they have only carried railway staff, not members of the general public.   I understand that the trip on 26th March was for invited guests, members of the Purbeck  Community Rail Partnership and for Swanage Railway staff.

Swanage has become a popular destination in recent years for charter trains (both steam and diesel) operated by heritage stock.  2013 could see a change, with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) planning a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) charter there from Worcester on 28th September.

[ChrisB]

Hmmm, the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) is planning that charter....

[swrural]

not quite true,

a virgin cross country voyager went down the line some years ago...http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news159.htm

i m very pleased in the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) trial and that i am sure one day regular London services will start again

roger, dorset.

I hope you are right Roger, (at least as far as Bournemouth if not Southampton or Waterloo) but the vibes I am getting from publications is that the smart 159 is but a delusion.  AIUI^▸ (as I understand it), they want to run a smelly old 1950s dmu just as far as Wareham, where you will have to change and wait for the Weymouth to turn up.

I don't see that being a draw for Swanage area commuters but who knows how many masochists there are in Purbeck?

I actually hope I am wrong about this.

[paul7575]

All the current evidence is that the recent SWT^▸ (South West Trains) visits are nothing whatsoever to do with a future through service, but about SWT hiring the line for a few days to trial the 158/159 units with modified gearboxes away from NR^» (Network Rail - home page) infrastructure and its normal traffic.

The recent info on the Swanage Railway website is still all about using overhauled Mk1 DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) shuttling to/from Wareham only.

As I see it, commercial through fares are going to be the big problem - the pence per mile fare on the typical heritage line is far more than the equivalent on the national network; and the $64,000 question is how a heritage line can guarantee a reliable commuter service all year round using volunteer staff. 

I'd expect regular travellers would want the sort of discount for a weekly season they get from SWT as well - 60% off or whatever...

Paul

[MrC]

I hope you are right Roger, (at least as far as Bournemouth if not Southampton or Waterloo) but the vibes I am getting from publications is that the smart 159 is but a delusion.  AIUI^▸ (as I understand it), they want to run a smelly old 1950s dmu just as far as Wareham, where you will have to change and wait for the Weymouth to turn up.

That's pretty well on the money and yes the current 158/159 route clearance and traincrew route learning is primarily for off-NR^» (Network Rail - home page) metals gearbox testing. The Swanage Railway and their partners currently intend to run a couple of diesel mechanicals on a Swanage - Wareham shuttle at least in the first year or two. Whether the practicalities (ie TIN insurance, full time traincrew/signalling/p-way/station employees with all the relevant competencies maintained, 24x7 unit NR certified availability, etc, etc) of providing a better service mean that they (or someone else) provide a better service longer term is anyone's guess. It's always possible the SR^‡(resolve) or Dorset County Council (who own the line after all) could run the DMMUs as a heritage trip to Wareham during the off-peaks, and contract out a proper peak time commuter service as far as say Bournemouth to someone else better placed to do so. But that's all a long way in the future.

Personally I wouldn't sacrifice the commuter comforts of a modern car for a rattly old DMMU however well maintained AND having to change at Wareham. I can also see that the challenges and demands of providing a full-blown commuter service on a heritage line like the SR may not be what some of the volunteers there actually want!!

[grahame]

Figures I've seen suggest a 40 to 50% loss of traffic if you require people to change trains, so a Swanage to Wareham (change for anywhere else) isn't going to loose "everyone".   But - if you ran that train through to Waterloo, you have a round trip time of 6 hours, so for a train every 2 hours you'll need 4 sets.  And they'll be diesel, running 5 hours out of six on 3rd rail track (unless you electrify to Swanage?).   Now - they could possibly replace / be extensions of other services so you don't end up with overprovision east of Poole or Bournemouth, but chances are that the easy way to do it would be to extend the trains that terminate at Poole at the moment; it would actually be much quicker to make a 10 minute connection at Wareham.

I'm not saying these are insummountable problems - or that the service needs to go through to London.  I don't have the details / options / figures.  I have considered TransWilts to London and compared the lines.   Swanage is quite a small town by comparison to Melksham or Trowbridge, but it's much more attractive to tourists at the moment. That element brings its own issues of seasonality, and at Swanage there's no traffic going beyond to other destinations.  But "Change at Swindon" works for us / our figures, as does "even a 142, please", and no reason why similar would not work for Swanage if the demand is enough.

Now ... if someone would build a big shed for preserved 3rd rail electrics on the land to the South of Brockenhurst station and run that line using them ... sorry - going off topic here.   But I do note that Lymington has the possibility of electric to Southampton or London but it doesn't happen, so what chance electric Swanage to Southampton or London?

Yes - I am aware of the interesting health and safety issues of running steam locos with volunteers and having a rail carry 660v alongside the other two!

[ROGace]

yes in the near term the SR^‡(resolve) with PurbeckDC and DorsetCC funding intend to run the heritage DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)'s only as far as W'ham.
The SR has always wanted Wareham to be included and are right behind it.

sadly the costs involved for the track and more-so the signal upgrades are much higher than they needed to have been because the Bay platform the Swanage train will have to use is on the north side of the station which means now it will have to cross the Down and Up lines on arrival and departure into Wareham.
the south-side Bay platform is still there but sadly now flanks the station car park.

the councils down here really want this to be a viable alternative (they did fund a lot of this) to the car as for those of you who live or commute in this area (and know the roads) then you know that a train may be come an attractive alternative to some if not many in time.

The DCC^» (Devon County Council - website) now has very limited funds to assist supporting subs to rural transport; buses rail etc so this really needs to work.
the early bus in the morning peak (the X53) bus for commuters to go from Weymouth via Wareham to Poole to get to work has recently been shelved by First Bus so things here are a bit grim with no doubt more cuts to come.

The 2012 Olympics offered a shed-load of cash to upgrade transport infrastructure in this area and the Weymouth A354 new link road was built rather than upgrading any rail infrastructure between B'mth and Weymouth. (as you may know the 750 DC^▸ (Direct Current) third rail is woefully short of juice meaning longer or extra electric trains on many sections means blowing a large fuse lol)
Trials before the Olympics with 2 x class 444 joined together saw the train down to a crawl at Upwey.

Third rail to Swanage will never happen and from what appears on the cards is no more cash now for 3rd rail electricity power supply upgrades on B'mth-Weymouth.
Under the wires is mooted in the long term.


Going back to the thought of through trains into Swanage from London or the North is a very viable future option and like Newquay now, may be summer only.


we have seen the growth on the Heart of Wessex line from Weymouth.
But through trains to Weymouth from the North stopped years ago in Virgin XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) days and have not been re-instated.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) never ran a through HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Paddington to Weymouth but many of us would prefer that down here than to SWT^▸ (South West Trains)'s offerings to Waterloo.
I am surprised they never have.  journey times would be little different.

anyway, it always great to chat on here!
Regards.

[CLPGMS]

From what I can see from a photograph (attached) in the latest issue of the "Swanage Railway Magazine", Network Rail has installed a crossover at the London end of Wareham station.  This should enable trains from Swanage to terminate at the up platform and then to move out of the way into a siding on the down side to allow a train from Weymouth to provide a same platform connection to Bournemouth/London.  In the reverse direction, after departure of a London-Weymouth train from Wareham, the unit can emerge from the siding and provide a same platform connection to Swanage.

This is my own interpretation of the situation as I have not seen any reference to reinstating a bay platform at Wareham.

[ROGace]

thank you for that PIC, most interesting...

the south side bay cannot be re-instated because the car park is there now.

so it may seem the re-statement of the north side bay will not be needed as the trains will run in on the up
platform  then cross over and departure will be from the down?

cheers Rog