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THE Swanage Railway ran its first post-lockdown public trains on July 11, with many restrictions in force.
The five-coach fundraising trains, hauled by a Class 33, ran non-stop from Swanage to Norden.
After loco run-round, the train returned to Swanage, completing a 45-minute journey.
Accommodation was reduced to 40% of the usual seating.
Departures from Swanage were at 10.30, 12.00, 13.30 and 15.00.
The operations followed a full risk-assessment using Government guidance and the award of a Good to Go certificate.
Train interiors were cleaned after every journey and surfaces wiped with sanitiser. Face masks for staff and passengers were mandatory.
Non-public test trains were run from July 4 to 10. This service was set to operate every day until July 31.
Swanage Railway Trust chairman Gavin Johns said the weekend was a “soft approach to re-starting services to help gain familiarity with safe Covid-19 compliant operation”, and was considered satisfactory.
A number of lessons were learned, which were to be applied when running trains subsequently, with Norden station expected to be brought into use in August.
Intermediate stations are likely to remain closed because of the difficulty of reconciling the need to manage passenger numbers and bookings, while ensuring social distancing on trains.
It was decided steam haulage would begin the following weekend, July 18 and 19, after a week of diesel haulage.