SHUTTLE TRAIN SERVICE TO RUN FROM NORDEN PARK & RIDE TO CORFE CASTLE DURING NEW YEAR MAINTENANCE SHUTDOWN - WEEKENDS IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2012

News Item from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 28th December 2011
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
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The Swanage Railway announces Winter Shuttle Service for January and February 2012. Photo Andrew P.M. Wright

Swanage Railway volunteers are running a special shuttle train service from Norden Park & Ride to Corfe Castle during January and February - while the rest of the heritage line is closed because of extensive civil engineering work at Swanage station.

See below for a downloadable poster and timetable, and please help publicise this service to your friends and contacts.

The amenity train service for walkers and other visitors using a 1960s heritage diesel rail bus will be running on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 January, 2012, until 26 February, 2012 (inclusive).

The Swanage Railway announces Winter Shuttle Service for January and February 2012. Photo Andrew P.M. Wright

Departing Norden Park & Ride as well as Corfe Castle stations every 30 minutes, there will be ten trains a day in each direction between 10.45am and 3.55pm.

Tickets for the special shuttle trains are £1 for an adult single and £2 for an adult return - with children travelling free of charge.

Full steam train services are due to resume between Norden Park & Ride, Corfe Castle, Harman's Cross, Herston Halt and Swanage on Saturday, 3 March, 2011.

Swanage Railway commercial manager Martin Payne said: "The public can avoid the hassle of parking in Corfe Castle by using the attended car park at Norden and using the diesel shuttle to visit Corfe Castle. The view of the castle ruins from the train as it runs down from Norden is absolutely amazing.

The Swanage Railway announces Winter Shuttle Service for January and February 2012. Photo Andrew P.M. Wright

"The Swanage Railway has not to run a train service during the annual January and February shutdown over recent years because of essential maintenance work carried out on the very intensively used line.

"We can run a Norden Park & Ride to Corfe Castle shuttle train service for walkers and people visiting the picture postcard village during this year's January and February shutdown because the essential maintenance work is only taking place at Swanage station.

"The newest railway station to be built in Dorset after being opened in 1995, Norden Park & Ride is an ideal base for undertaking winter walks on the

Purbeck Hills as well as for taking the short trip to Corfe Castle where the train affords superb views of the iconic Medieval castle," explained Mr Payne.

The essential maintenance work at Swanage station during January and February 2012 will be the replacement and improvement of most of the underground drains at Swanage station.

Martin Payne explained: "The major work at Swanage station is very important for the efficient running of a very busy and popular railway. Created by the Victorians in 1884 only a few feet above sea level, the station was built on ground composed of clay.

"This is the first time the Swanage Railway has had the chance to replace and improve the drainage system at Swanage station after its progressive decline under British Rail from 1967 and then the complete abandonment of the site in 1972 when the station was closed and the tracks lifted."

The Swanage Railway announces Winter Shuttle Service for January and February 2012. Photo Andrew P.M. Wright

Rebuilt from nothing since 1976, the volunteer-run Swanage Railway carries more than 200,000 passengers a year on six miles of relaid railway line between Norden, Corfe Castle, Harman's Cross, Herston Halt and Swanage.

The heritage railway contributes around £10 million to the Purbeck economy and profits from train services and special events are ploughed back into the development and extension of the Swanage Railway and its facilities.

The Swanage Railway is run by some 500 regular volunteers - assisted by a team of more than 30 full-time staff - and the value of the Swanage Railway volunteers' work is £2 million a year if they were paid.

Swanage Railway service details are available from the Swanage Railway on 01929 425800 - or by following the links in the index on the left of this page.

See below for a downloadable poster and timetable, and please help publicise this service to your friends and contacts.

Downloadable poster for the Winter Shuttle Service which will operate on a special timetable during weekends in January and February 2012, starting 7th January.

Downloadable special timetable for the Winter Shuttle Service which will operate during weekends in January and February 2012, starting 7th January.