Swanage Railway: Diesel trial hit by economic concerns

Swanage Railway has been running steam trains as a tourist attraction since the 1990s

Plans to trial a diesel train service on a heritage railway line have been put on hold over concerns about economic conditions.

The volunteer-run Swanage Railway had planned a service using restored engines along the branch line between Swanage and Wareham.

It said it hoped to stage a 90-day trial in 2023.

Chairman Gavin Johns said it faced "challenging trading conditions and economic uncertainty".

In a statement, Swanage Railway said delays in its submission to obtain government permission to run the restored 1950s British Railways trains, low rail passenger numbers and the cost of bringing in a contractor to operate the trains, have prompted the decision to postpone the trial.

'Commercially viable'

Mr Johns said the business faced "significant price rises" and was still recovering from the impact of the pandemic.

"We can only run trains to Wareham when the conditions are commercially viable and it's important that we operate the trial as economically as possible and when commercial conditions are at their best," he added.

"We remain fully committed to securing all necessary consents and commencing services with a view to operating to Wareham during 2023."

The original line from Swanage to Wareham was closed by British Rail in 1972.

Volunteers rebuilt the 5.5-mile (8.8km) stretch from Swanage to Norden over three decades and have been running it as a tourist attraction since the 1990s

In 2017, it reconnected with the mainline and the first timetabled passenger service ran along the full 10-mile line for the first time in 45 years. The railway had been working to make the trials a regular service.

The railway launched an emergency appeal in 2020 to help it survive when passenger numbers slumped during the Covid-19 pandemic.