The last time that British Rail passenger trains ran between Wareham, Corfe and Swanage was January 1972. However a new trail service has been launched this year with a diesel train service from the main line at Wareham into the heart Purbeck.

The trial service will operate from April to September with tickets available from main line train operating company South Western Railway so its passengers can add tickets for Corfe Castle and Swanage to their main line tickets. The new service will be aimed at tourists, giving them the opportunity to leave their cars behind and explore Purbeck by train!

The service will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 4 April to 10 September, 2023, with the first train departing Wareham at 11.19am and the last train leaving Swanage for Wareham at 4.20pm – giving visitors the opportunity to spend four hours in Swanage or Corfe Castle. The timetable is subject to change on special event days.

Swanage Railway will be using restored and upgraded 1950s heritage diesel trains, used by British Rail across its network from the 1950s to the 1990s, to operate the eleven mile service.

Swanage Railway is a heritage railway run a group of dedicated railway and community volunteers. The new trial train service from Wareham was the result of working in partnership with the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund, the Department of Transport, the former Purbeck District Council, Dorset Council, British Petroleum, Perenco, Network Rail and South Western Railway.

Photos: Courtesy of Andrew P.M. Wright, Swanage Railway