Wareham railway station

Wareham railway station serves the town of Wareham in Dorset, England. It is situated about one kilometre north of the town centre.

History

The current station opened in 1887 replacing the original which opened in 1847 and was sited east of what is now only a pedestrian crossing.^[1] This station had two bay platforms which served the branch line to Swanage from 1885 until 1972, when the branch closed.^[2]

The branch line to Swanage is now the Swanage Railway, a steam locomotive operated heritage railway that currently operates between Swanage and a Park and Ride site at Norden just north of Corfe Castle. The rail connection between the Swanage Railway and the Network Rail tracks at Worgret Junction has been restored, and there are plans to extend the Swanage Railway back into Wareham station on a regular basis, thus restoring a connection with the National Rail network. One of the bay platforms is now covered by part of the station car park, the other is clear, awaiting the eventual arrival of the Swanage Railway to the station.

Services

Wareham station is served by two South West Trains services an hour from London Waterloo to Weymouth, usually a Class 444 express Desiro unit or Class 450 outer suburban Desiro unit. Prior to 9 December 2007 it was the terminus for an hourly local service from Brockenhurst but this has now been partially replaced by the additional Weymouth service..

Although track is now complete through from Worgret Junction to the Swanage Railway, the normal service on the Swanage Railway still terminates at Norden station near Corfe Castle. However special services occasionally work between Wareham and the Swanage Railway. The Swanage Railway have ultimate plans to have their regular services terminate at Wareham, allowing interchange with the main line.^[3]

However, Swanage Railway trains cannot call at Wareham until works to replace and upgrade the signalling system between Weymouth and Poole are completed.

References