Project Wareham – the Purbeck Line

The Purbeck Line - Nurturing our WAREHAM • NORDEN • CORFE CASTLE • HARMANS CROSS • HERSTON • SWANAGE environmental inheritance The Swanage Railway lies in a protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Grassland, heath, meadow and woodland all exist in areas close to, or not that far away from, the Railway and provide a home for a wide range of flora and fauna.

This landscape is not only attractive to us but also home to some of the UK’s most endangered species and this is especially true of the section of line between Norden and Worgret Junction.

Three areas of the trackbed and banks within the fence line in this section have been designated as legally protected Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and this designation also extends toa significant area adjacent to the fence line; including Corfe Common which lies adjacent to where the Swanage Railway already runs trains. The habitat under protection is a type of lowland heath which is only Project Wareham – a small fraction of that which existed in England a century ago and represents 20 per cent of what remains of this type of environment The Purbeck Line in the whole of Europe. The heath is a really important habitat and home to not only rare plants but also the Smooth Snake and the Sand Lizard whose populations have declined dramatically in line with the loss of their habitat.

The Swanage Railway is conscious of its responsibilities in conservation management and seeks to abide by an agreed plan so the objectives of the Railway and the needs of SSSIs can be realised.

A start has been made and consultants have been commissioned to prepare an ecological management plan. The Swanage Railway Trust has also successfully applied for a conservation enhancement scheme grant run by Natural England for enhancement of the track-side banks in the Eldon Sidings area where scrub clearance and weed control has been in progress for two winters.

The five-year scheme will hopefully revert the banks to a mixed heath and acid grassland into which protected species can move from the adjacent nature reserve.

Environmental photographs courtesy of David Ensor, all other photographs courtesy of Andrew P.M. Wright www.swanagerailway.co.uk 01929 425800 www.swanagerailway.co.uk 01929 425800 Project Wareham – The Purbeck Line Project Wareham entails delivering the infrastructure and capability The Purbeck Line – the infrastructure to enable the full re-instatement of the Purbeck Line and the Completion of the Purbeck Line and reconnection with the main re-introduction of timetabled passenger services between line has been a hugely challenging undertaking. Regular train Swanage and Wareham. services between Swanage and Wareham cannot start until a The Swanage Railway is a heritage railway with a distinct community- new level crossing has been been completed. A completely new Network Rail and Swanage Railway signalling system has been based purpose. Re-instating passenger services between Swanage installed to control Worgret Junction, where the Purbeck Line joins and Wareham was a founding objective of the preserved Swanage the London to Weymouth main line, while a new level crossing is in Railway when founded in 1972 and is the aspiration of the Purbeck the process of being constructed near Norden station. Upgrading Community Rail Partnership. The Purbeck Line represents the the line involves replacing 1,700 wooden sleepers, the clearing of six culmination of more than 40 years work. miles of embankments, repairing bridges, upgrading of six miles of lineside fencing and improving the line’s drainage system.

Trains on The Purbeck Line The Purbeck Line service to Wareham will use our 1960s heritage diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains. These trains are being refurbished at the Eastleigh railway works and are being brought up to the standard required to run on the main line. Additional communication, safety and driver-recording equipment is being installed for main line operation as is a central door locking system.

The possibility of running steam-hauled trains to Wareham will remain a much longer-term prospect. The Purbeck Community Rail Partnership With the realisation that the Swanage Railway would continue Train services on the Purbeck Line to struggle to re-introduce regular train services to Wareham Initially, the service will start with a two-year trial. The current plan without external help, the Swanage Railway approached Purbeck is to introduce the first year’s trial service in the spring of 2016 and District Council to establish the Purbeck Community Rail exact dates are yet to be determined. The start date is dependent Partnership (PCRP). on completing infrastructure work, train refurbishment and staff training which are underway. An active member and leading participant of the PCRP, the Swanage Railway has enjoyed a good working relationship with its In the first year of the two-year trial, we will run the service local authorities for many years. In addition to the Railway, the for 50 days on a set pattern over the spring and summer period. partnership is also made up of Dorset County Council, Purbeck For example, we may decide to run the service every Friday and District Council, Network Rail, Perenco (replacing BP as owners of Saturday from March through to September. The exact running days Wytch Farm), the Borough of Poole council and South West Trains. and times will be included in the 2016 Swanage Railway timetable.