Swanage Railway has announced that they have entered into a new partnership between themselves and local train operator South Western Railway which will connect the region to Corfe Castle with 6 new trains each Saturday (26th May to 8th September inclusive).
Direct trains will run to Corfe Castle from Weymouth, Dorchester, Moreton and Wool (£5 day return) and from Salisbury, Tisbury, Gillingham, Templecombe, Sherborne, Yeovil and Maiden Newton (£10 day return).
These trains are the first regular timetabled trains from Corfe Castle to London Waterloo since 1969.
Swanage Railway to offer discounted steam train fares too for just £10 for SWR passengers
What did the officials say?
Chris Loder, Head of Service Strategy at South Western Railway, said:
“This partnership will help to encourage visitors from all over the UK to visit Corfe Castle and Swanage, whilst at the same time offer local residents a useful and regular rail connection”.
Trevor Parsons, Chairman of Swanage Railway Company, said:
“We are delighted that this partnership with South Western Railway will enable a regular train service on summer Saturdays to Corfe Castle. This will give everyone the opportunity of visiting the historic Corfe Castle and join us on board our iconic steam trains to the Victorian seaside town of Swanage”.
Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, added:
“This train service will really help connect the community, as well as offering transport to Wareham, Poole and Bournemouth that will be faster than being stuck in traffic. This is a really good initiative and I hope it is a great
Cllr Bill Trite, Dorset County and Purbeck District Councillor and Chairman of the Purbeck Community Rail Partnership (PCRP) said:
“The PCRP is all about promoting a regular rail link between Swanage, Corfe Castle and the main line railway network, so this enterprising arrangement for the summer is a great step towards that objective, building on the hard work of many people to get us to this point.
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why aren’t these trains running everyday of the week so people can get to the coast this seasonal thing isn’t going to work people might has well use their cars the railways died back in 1966 too expensive not joined up out of date rip all tracks and build decent roads cars are cheaper than trains
Why not operate some of them from Southampton Central or Bournemouth to Corfe Castle.