A major milestone has been achieved in the reinstatement of a trial regular passenger rail service in Purbeck.
On Monday 8 September, Swanage Railway signed a lease with Dorset County Council for the Swanage branch line between Wareham and Swanage.
Swanage Railway lease signed
After the transfer of ownership of the northern-most three miles of the line from Network Rail to Dorset County Council, representatives from Swanage Railway signed the lease which it will hold for a period of 99 years.
Using part of a £1.47 million grant provided by the Government Coastal Communities Fund and a grant of £500,000 from BP, Swanage Railway will now be able to upgrade track and bridges on the line and install a level crossing over the Norden Park & Ride access road.
Councillor Peter Finney, Environment Portfolio Holder for Dorset County Council said: “This is an important achievement towards the reinstatement of a regular passenger service between Wareham and Swanage.
“Everyone involved in the project has worked extremely hard to achieve this milestone. Although there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done, it is a huge step towards the return of a service that last operated regularly between the two towns in 1972.
District and County Councillor Mike Lovell is Chair of the Purbeck Community Rail Partnership, which is a partnership of all the key players in the rail link project. He said: “This is a significant day for the partnership, residents and businesses. A fully-functioning rail link will enable people from Corfe Castle and Swanage to travel by train to anywhere in the country. Families and holiday-makers will be able to leave the car at home taking traffic away from the heavily-congested A351.
Councillor Lovell continued: “Further investment is still needed to reinstate a regular service.However, the signing of this lease is a huge boost to efforts to commence a trial community service and a progression towards a fully-fledged service”.
Swanage Railway Company Chairman Peter Sills said: “The signing of the 99-year lease with Dorset County Council is a very important and historic day for the Swanage Railway and the development of public transport in Purbeck.
“It enables the final stage of work to take place to ensure the delivery of a trial train service linking Swanage and Corfe Castle with the main line at Wareham from late 2015.
“I’m very grateful to Swanage Railway Trust Chairman Gavin Johns and Mick Stone, our lands and property specialist, for their professionalism and determination in leading the detailed and lengthy lease negotiations,” he added.