Swanage Railway’s Wareham trial postponed to 2023

THE Swanage Railway has postponed its planned trial heritage DMU service to the main line at Wareham until the summer of 2023, due to challenging trading conditions and economic uncertainty.

It had been hoped to operate the 90-day trial public service this summer using the line’s three-car Class 117 and a Class 121 ‘Bubble Car’ upgraded for main line running.

The decision to postpone this year’s operation has been prompted by delays in completing the Swanage Railway’s submission to industry regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to obtain permission to run the trains – the option of bringing in a contractor to operate the trains being uneconomic and main line passenger numbers having not returned to pre-Covid levels.

Swanage Railway chairman Gavin Johns said: “The extensive work required to put in an application to the ORR for operating trains to Wareham has been very detailed and has taken longer than expected – it has probably been the most challenging project in the 45year history of the railway.”