Swanage Railway announce 2023 Wareham service

[jupiter]

1, 2, 3 or 4 cars. The trailer car can be dropped out.

 

[Train Boy]

Yes, the Swanage Railway website does now say this. I guess the intention was to have the through tickets available from the start of the trial but for whatever reason that hasn't been possible.

Yes, the important thing is that they will be available soon. Hopefully this will really spread the word about the service and encourage patronage.

Specifically 21st April is now the quoted date.

 

[James H]

I wonder if the through tickets will be comparatively better value, and by not selling them during the Easter holiday period they get to maximise revenue from those prepared to pay full fare for the novelty factor of sampling the 'new' service in its early weeks.

(Also maybe fair enough to let it bed in a bit operationally before adding through ticketing to the mix)

 

[Titfield]

I wonder if the through tickets will be comparatively better value, and by not selling them during the Easter holiday period they get to maximise revenue from those prepared to pay full fare for the novelty factor of sampling the 'new' service in its early weeks.

(Also maybe fair enough to let it bed in a bit operationally before adding through ticketing to the mix)

Whilst at Swanage yesterday I overheard someone saying that the fares had to be inputted into the SWR system as part of the regular fare updates procedure which takes place on set dates and unfortunately the SRC fares had missed the earlier "update date".

It will be very interesting to see if the through fares do provide better value or allow for railcards etc etc.

 

[Forty29]

Sandbanks can get very congested in the summer, and there were significant delays to buses on route 50 on one occasion due to illegally parked cars at Studland. In fact, the entire Bournemouth area, plus the Purbecks have the same problem, people keep coming despite warnings that there is nowhere to park, and then park illegally, a £35 fine (if you get a ticket) isn't much of a deterrent
There is a bus lane at the ferry, so in theory, queuing traffic should not delay buses

Last l heard illegally parked cars were being towed away if parking over the yellow lines,?

 

[Titfield]

Last l heard illegally parked cars were being towed away if parking over the yellow lines,?

Yes they were towing away last summer.

 

[tnxrail]

Im in the area and hoping to go Tuesday with family if they wanted to go on the steam trains would you need additional tickets or could a freedom of the line be used on both maybe silly questions just wanted to be sure.

 

[30907]

Im in the area and hoping to go Tuesday with family if they wanted to go on the steam trains would you need additional tickets or could a freedom of the line be used on both maybe silly questions just wanted to be sure.

Try here (all fares valid on all trains)
https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/tickets

 

[341o2]

Last l heard illegally parked cars were being towed away if parking over the yellow lines,?

Noone should park a vehicle so as to cause an obstruction regardless of whether there are restrictions

 

[railfan99]

Especially since neither SWR nor the Trainline's journey planners include it. National Rail does, but says there are no trains. Swanage Railway's website gives the train times but doesn't seem to be able to sell through tickets either.

Could any RailUK fora contributors who work for SWR, The Trainline or National Rail raise these various deficiencies with their employer?

It's vital that the maximum number of prospective passengers know of the connecting railcar days of operation, frequencies and availability of through ticketing.

If not publicised through these channels, and perhaps Facebook/Instagram plus local media as well, the season risks very few using the services.

 

[paul1609]

Yes, the important thing is that they will be available soon. Hopefully this will really spread the word about the service and encourage patronage.

From the research that Ive carried out there is only one heritage railway in the UK where "through tickets" from the national network have generated sufficient business to be worthwhile and thats not standard gauge. Most of the railways Ive spoken to have said it's only really a token effort and the tickets numbers sold are tiny. Generally outside the metropolitan areas and special cases like the Isle of Wight passengers arriving on heritage railways by national rail is tiny. I was surprised at how low the figures were even on railways like the IOWSR.

 

[williamn]

From the research that Ive carried out there is only one heritage railway in the UK where "through tickets" from the national network have generated sufficient business to be worthwhile and thats not standard gauge. Most of the railways Ive spoken to have said it's only really a token effort and the tickets numbers sold are tiny. Generally outside the metropolitan areas and special cases like the Isle of Wight passengers arriving on heritage railways by national rail is tiny. I was surprised at how low the figures were even on railways like the IOWSR.

This is a slightly different case though as it’s at least partially an attempt to provide a new practical train service as opposed to solely a trip on a heritage line.

 

[paul1609]

This is a slightly different case though as it’s at least partially an attempt to provide a new practical train service as opposed to solely a trip on a heritage line.

Sorry but it's no different to half a dozen existing heritage railways that attract next to no through traffic from national rail and it has exceptional costs through running on the mainline for half a mile.

 

[zwk500]

This is a slightly different case though as it’s at least partially an attempt to provide a new practical train service as opposed to solely a trip on a heritage line.

No it isn't, it's about drumming up some publicity for the heritage line (and satisfying a few 'historic wrongs').

 

[BenS123]

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/n...ins-first-wareham-swanage-services-since-70s/ the Bournemouth Echo has written a report on the reopening.

On Tuesday, the first service was waved off by the Mayor of Wareham, councillor Malcolm Russell.

Cllr Russell then welcomed the Mayor of Swanage, Tina Foster, when she arrived at 1pm on the first train from the seaside town to Wareham.

The services will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until September 10.

The first train will leave Wareham at 11.19am each day, with the last returning service departing Swanage at 4.20pm.

From the end of April, South Western Railway passengers will be able to buy add-on tickets for Corfe Castle and Swanage with their mainline tickets.

The article also has a comment from Peter Frost, one of the first Swanage Railway volunteers and rode the last BR train on the line:

“That first passenger train into Wareham was something that several generations of dedicated and determined Swanage Railway volunteers have worked towards since 1972.

“After seven miles of track from Swanage through Corfe Castle to Furzebrook had been lifted in just seven weeks, it seemed the branch line would never come back.

“Rebuilding the Swanage Railway, and returning trains to Wareham, seemed impossible to most people but we had a dream and wanted to try and make it come true.”

 

[railfan99]

the Bournemouth Echo has written a report on the reopening.

Apart from invited guests on 'freebies', how many have used these services since commencement in early April 2023?

 

[williamn]

Whether or not you think it’s being implemented well, the stated intent is to provide a train service, not just a heritage ride. Below from a press release:

Councillor Mike Whitwam, said: “This trial train service to Wareham marks an important opportunity to return to a fully-functioning and sustainable rail service that meets the needs of local communities, visitors and businesses.



"The trial service holds the prospect of Isle of Purbeck residents travelling anywhere possible by rail, leaving their cars at home and taking traffic off the congested A351 road,"

 

[JGurney]

only one heritage railway in the UK where "through tickets" from the national network have generated sufficient business to be worthwhile

I wonder how far that is due to such tickets often being either very hard to find, only available as returns, subject to a lot of restrictions or being only available in the higher fare ranges. Some are very poorly advertised, some are only available at limited ticket offices and not online, some are only to limited NR destinations, and some are only available as add-on's to full fare tickets so it is often cheaper to get an advance and a separate ticket for the heritage line. E.g. GWR do list some through fares on their website, which is a good start, but through tickets to Wallingford are only available from GWR ticket offices, and their through tickets to Bodmin and Wenford Rly stations are only available from stations in Devon and Cornwall.

 

[paul1609]

I wonder how far that is due to such tickets often being either very hard to find, only available as returns, subject to a lot of restrictions or being only available in the higher fare ranges. Some are very poorly advertised, some are only available at limited ticket offices and not online, some are only to limited NR destinations, and some are only available as add-on's to full fare tickets so it is often cheaper to get an advance and a separate ticket for the heritage line. E.g. GWR do list some through fares on their website, which is a good start, but through tickets to Wallingford are only available from GWR ticket offices, and their through tickets to Bodmin and Wenford Rly stations are only available from stations in Devon and Cornwall.

I think some heritage railways have enthusiastically spent a lot of time and effort pursuing through tickets on both rail and bus only to find that sales are pretty poor. In most cases they seem to be forgotten with the times spent more productively elsewhere.

 

[williamn]

In a lot of cases heritage railways have very poor connections with the mainline for some reason so it hardly encourages use of through ticketing - in my recent experience the Ffestiniog, the North Norfolk and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

 

[paul1609]

In a lot of cases heritage railways have very poor connections with the mainline for some reason so it hardly encourages use of through ticketing - in my recent experience the Ffestiniog, the North Norfolk and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

Indeed that's because the number of passengers they get from national rail are very small. They are better off timing their services to meet the aspirations of other markets such as coach parties or to run at minimum cost.

 

[Mainline421]

Could any RailUK fora contributors who work for SWR, The Trainline or National Rail raise these various deficiencies with their employer?

Not sure what expect you expect Trainline to do, it's nothing to do with them whatsoever.

I wonder how far that is due to such tickets often being either very hard to find, only available as returns, subject to a lot of restrictions or being only available in the higher fare ranges. Some are very poorly advertised, some are only available at limited ticket offices and not online, some are only to limited NR destinations, and some are only available as add-on's to full fare tickets so it is often cheaper to get an advance and a separate ticket for the heritage line. E.g. GWR do list some through fares on their website, which is a good start, but through tickets to Wallingford are only available from GWR ticket offices, and their through tickets to Bodmin and Wenford Rly stations are only available from stations in Devon and Cornwall.

This is the problem, there's likely a lot more people arriving by National Rail than buying though tickets. Usually they're extremely poorly advertised and only available from ticket offices, where fewer and fewer people are buying their tickets. Even after checking BR Fares and hidden pages of TOC's websites I still missed out on the discount at the North Norfolk Railway when I was there (turns out they offer one by presenting a NR ticket to Sheringham).

The Bodmin ones can be done as an add-on from Bodmin Parkway, and as far as I know any TOC should be able to sell all of them not just GWR.

 

[Titfield]

Members of the general public usually see heritage railways as tourist attractions like for example Chessington World of Adventures or Longleat and therefore go to the individual attraction website. Likewise for convenience they will assume that car is the default option to get there. How many would then even consider using public transport including rail to get there?

Many heritage railways do not make much of an attempt to encourage visitors to come by any means of transport other than by private car. How many provide links to local bus company websites possibly even providing basic details of the bus service offered, how many heritage railways have cycle racks or safe cycle parking?

 

[zwk500]

Members of the general public usually see heritage railways as tourist attractions like for example Chessington World of Adventures or Longleat and therefore go to the individual attraction website. Likewise for convenience they will assume that car is the default option to get there. How many would then even consider using public transport including rail to get there?

Tbf I think many people do look public transport as a means to visit heritage railways, it's just that generally the mainline terminus has little or no facilities or interest and so it's often better for the little 'un to take them to the main station and let them look at the exhibitions first before getting on the train.

Many heritage railways do not make much of an attempt to encourage visitors to come by any means of transport other than by private car. How many provide links to local bus company websites possibly even providing basic details of the bus service offered,

I know the Bluebell used to do bus companies and even ran vintage bus services for busy days. Both Bluebell and Spa Valley advertise their mainline connections reasonably well.

how many heritage railways have cycle racks or safe cycle parking?

Cycle parking is something the UK is atrocious with in general though. And most Heritage railways closed because they were in the middle of nowhere, and they quite often still are, so cycling would be a very niche mode of travel.

 

[Techniquest]

Quite right. I know in years gone by at least I could buy a Hereford to Bridgnorth through ticket, which was great but you still had to queue at the ticket office to swap the outward portion for a heritage ticket. The convenience of a through ticket is therefore gone!

Never mind that though, if I can't buy my WMR+SVR ticket in e-ticket form then I'm even less interested. I don't particularly care about having the heritage ticket, I want the paperless option and if I was a betting man (I'm not) then I'd wager the combined ticket would not be available in the TOC apps. In the modern day, this should be an absolute minimum!

Quite, it usually doesn't take long for me to throw my tickets in the bin, so a heritage railway ticket would end up in the same place. I haven't the patience to collect a whole load of them, even my most expensive ticket ever went in the bin a handful of weeks ago. That was my 7 day First Class ALR, so you can imagine I have no desire to keep any other ticket!

The through ticket to the Swanage Railway, yes it would be useful but I'm not going to buy a through ticket from Hereford, even if it is an option. It would be way too expensive, and I'd be in the area on other missions so I'd buy the local ticket when I got to Wareham/Corfe Castle (depending which other option I did first).

So if an enthusiast cannot be encouraged to buy a through ticket, then the chances are many others won't either.

 

[Titfield]

Cycle parking is something the UK is atrocious with in general though. And most Heritage railways closed because they were in the middle of nowhere, and they quite often still are, so cycling would be a very niche mode of travel.

But Swanage sees a huge number of cyclists who come over the chain ferry from Bournemouth / Poole and through Studland so Swanage Railway providing cycle parking would be quite a useful facility to offer. Furthermore this sort of facility is quite easy to provide compared with say building a carriage shed or negotiating a lease for some sidings that belong to a third party.

The point is that many Heritage Railways are focused on locomotives and sometimes carriages seemingly unable to embrace the "bigger picture" of attracting patronage.

 

[railfan99]

Many heritage railways do not make much of an attempt to encourage visitors to come by any means of transport other than by private car. How many provide links to local bus company websites possibly even providing basic details of the bus service offered, how many heritage railways have cycle racks or safe cycle parking?

Researching many of your preserved operations from overseas, it's been notable how widely the presence or omission of 'how to get here by train' or 'how to get here by train plus bus' varies.

Many tourist railways lack a link to the nationalrail.co.uk Journey Planner.

On some, it's hard to find timetables, believe it or not.

I did a subjective assessment of various heritage railway sites on the fora months ago. As we'd expect, the sites vary from outstanding/comprehensible/logical/uncluttered to the reverse.

 

[Techniquest]

But Swanage sees a huge number of cyclists who come over the chain ferry from Bournemouth / Poole and through Studland so Swanage Railway providing cycle parking would be quite a useful facility to offer. Furthermore this sort of facility is quite easy to provide compared with say building a carriage shed or negotiating a lease for some sidings that belong to a third party.

The point is that many Heritage Railways are focused on locomotives and sometimes carriages seemingly unable to embrace the "bigger picture" of attracting patronage.

Agreed. Cycle parking provision should be a higher priority in the modern day than it is, encouraging people to arrive by means other than car/other vehicle would be a good thing to invest some time in. There's no doubt in my mind it could be easy to promote in many places, the SVR could make more detail known about getting to Bridgnorth from the north for example. I've admittedly not cycled to Bridgnorth yet, but it looks doable from Telford Central and even places like Craven Arms. Such rides are on my list to do, but I'd also want somewhere to lock the cycle up when I got to Bridgnorth.

As for Swanage, the ride over from Bournemouth looks mighty appealing. However the further away my cycle is parked from the Swanage Railway, the more anxious I'd be about it being secure.

 

[Invincible]

Many heritage railways do not make much of an attempt to encourage visitors to come by any means of transport other than by private car. How many provide links to local bus company websites possibly even providing basic details of the bus service offered, how many heritage railways have cycle racks or safe cycle parking?

Another option could be when using SWR and the SR DMU to Corfe, is to hire a bike for the day?

Dorset Bike Hire - Cyclexperience

Our Dorset Bike Hire Centre is based in Purbeck Park near Corfe Castle and just 10 minutes cycle to family-friendly forest trails. Book online for electric bike hire and bikes for the whole family.

www.cyclex.co.uk

 

[xotGD]

I cycled to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey and had to chain my bike to a fence at the side of the car park.