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Swanage Railway ticket trial from mainline stations

Andrew PM Wright Swanage Railway Class 117 heritage diesel train at Corfe CastleAndrew PM Wright
Passengers will be able to buy tickets from mainline stations to Corfe Castle

A mainline rail firm is to sell tickets to holiday destinations on a heritage line in Dorset.

On Monday South Western Railway (SWR) will add Corfe Castle and Swanage to its destinations on sale, for travel between April and September.

Tickets to the Purbeck stations have not been offered to network purchasers since the line was torn up in 1972.

SWR said the deal was a "historic moment" for Swanage Railway's efforts to reconnect with the main network.

Dr Neil Clifton Swanage branch lineDr Neil Clifton
The original Swanage to Wareham line was closed by British Rail in 1972

The heritage line previously ran trial services from the mainline station at Wareham in 2017.

It followed more than £5m of investment in rail infrastructure and rolling stock by national and local government.

The new service, from 4 April to 10 September, will involve four trains a day on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The 1950s diesel trains will be operated by charter firm West Coast Railways.

Railway staff
Swanage Railway previously ran trial services to the main line at Wareham in 2017

Councillor Mike Whitwam, from Purbeck Community Rail Partnership, said: "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."

Regional development manager Andrew Ardley from SWR said: "We look forward to seeing the results of this highly anticipated trial."

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Analysis

By Paul Clifton, BBC South transport correspondent

It will be possible to buy a ticket to Swanage from any of South Western Railway's 200 stations.

That has not happened since the line stopped being part of the national rail network in 1972.

The idea of paying one fare to Corfe Castle or Swanage from London Waterloo, Portsmouth Harbour or Salisbury: that really is new.

This service has been delayed, restricted or interrupted many times over many years. The diesel train restoration took much longer than expected and the pandemic got in the way.

Top marks to the heritage railway - and SWR - for navigating a procedural minefield.

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