Project Wareham

The survey will feed into the next 15 year Local Transport Plan number 4, which could be skewed to different viewpoints.
Looking at some of the survey replies and say how it could relate to Corfe Castle village

"Access to a car is important to maintaining independence
Congestion is an ongoing problem across urban areas during the summer season and peak times of day
The movement of people and goods should be more efficient to benefit the economy and the environment."

Some people have spent a lot of money on, say, buying large BMW SUVs, which they want to use at the fastest speed. One option could be to reinstate the Corfe Castle village bypass using road tax funds. The Swanage railway could close Corfe station and be cut back to just a 3 mile length to allow this as "more" people (especially with large SUVs) will benefit from the bypass.

Or highlighting other views.
Could mean more 20mph restrictions to cut back road usage, investing in public transport so the car owners could leave cars at home.
Ideally buses and trains could work better together.
There could be a case to find £100k so a summer heritage DMU shuttle service could be reinstated between say Wareham and Corfe, run jointly by SR and the planned GBR, which could reduce traffic on the roads.

 

I do not see what has changed since last year.
The issue of traffic keeps getting mentioned and yet the Council, against the advice of its own planners, and on the chairs casting vote have agreed to the application to build a Lidl on the roundabout on the Wareham side of Sandford. In my view Sandford is a far worse traffic bottleneck that Corfe Castle and of course you have to pass through it to reach Corfe. Apparently 80% of Sandford residents wanted this built, so they can't see traffic congestion as an issue either.
So you are really talking about people coming by rail, so maybe the funds (if there ever were any) would need to come from any tourist budget, not the transport one. As has been said many times before the rail link at best serves the residents of Swanage, Harmans Cross and Corfe Castle and much of Swanage is a 15 minute walk from the station. All of that of course before you get to the thorny issue of fares. I lost count of the number of my wife's friends who reckoned that residents should pay no more than £5 return to Wareham. If you live in Worth Matravers, Church Knowle or Harmans Cross (for 8 months of the year) you would prefer a bus to a rail link.

 

Does seem strange the Lidl application means more congestion on the A351, once it opens people will probably start complaining about the extra road congestion.
The Local Transport Plan number 3 in 2011 (there is a lot of documentation) did mention re-connecting the Swanage railway to the mainline and the steps needed to do this, which has now been done.
https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/local-transport-plan-3
What it did not do was to look at operating costs, ongoing viability and extra benefits like lower road traffic over the next 15 years, which the forthcoming Local Transport Plan number 4 might do?
"Once adopted by the councils in spring 2026, the new plan will help secure national funding for necessary transport improvements. LTP4 will support sustainable economic growth and work alongside both councils’ local plans to ensure development planning and transport planning work together."

I expect there will be more discussion about what will be in LTP4 and if it will include a future revised Wareham to Corfe heritage DMU train line service in some form?.

 

I always thought Holton Heath would be a better terminus than Wareham, 2 miles down the line, A underused station, closer to the A35 and bypassing the Sandford bottle neck and a potential Park & Ride carpark.

 

Would need a crossover and associated signalling, building a P & R car park somewhere, not sure where as most of it is surrounded by industrial units on the only side of the line with road access, hence mega NR bill plus land purchase?

 

Sorry, But I am somewhat confused here, Do you good people know something that I don't know? Why all this sudden interest in Project Wareham?
As far as I know there are no plans to reinstate this service for the for seeable future unless anyone on here knows differently.

 

I caused it by suggesting the new Dorset plan did not make this any more viable.

 

On FB this appeared
Railway Club of the New Forest, January 31st 7.30pm, £5, Village Hall Highwood Road Brockenhurst SO42 7RY. Mike Walshaw presents “The Swanage Railway’s Wareham Project”. In 1885 the LSWR opened a branch from Wareham at the top of Poole Harbour to Swanage. British Railways closed the line in 1972 and the track was quickly dismantled. Undaunted, the enthusiasts of the Swanage Railway Society rebuilt the line, yard-by-yard, from Swanage to Norden just beyond Corfe Castle. In 2008 an opportunity arose to re-connect the line to the National Network. Dr Walshaw, the Swanage Railway’s Project Engineer for the Wareham Scheme will explain how this was achieved and the use that has since been made of the connection.

 

I will post this here for the want of anywhere else.

This was from this weeks Dorset Council e newsletter, one of the comments from Nick Ireland Leader of the Council.

Make of it what you will Man in a box for 18 hours day for another 13 years I suppose.
Struck me the other day (when photographing the NR SITT) that as there is no signal interlocking with the crossing how do the ORR view that? Guy in the box passes out, and hence the gates are still open, someone could get wiped out by a train, as most do not look when they cross.
Still at least no railtour passenger will fall out going over it thanks to CDL

Wareham Rail Crossing

Dorset Council will no longer engage in discussions about removing or replacing ground-level pedestrian access at Wareham Rail Crossing. We are opposing the potential closure of the crossing by Network Rail in 2038, and we will not seek to impose any solutions involving ramps or lifts. Recently, I attended a public demonstration at the crossing, where the community's strong opposition to these alternatives was evident. We will stand with Wareham residents to retain ground-level access and will not spend taxpayers' money on unpopular options. It's the right thing to do for the community of Wareham.

 

2038 - By then, the Dorset Coast resignalling will be due for major upgrading or maybe conversion to ETRMS....

I would be very concerned if DCC was my local council, taking the policy of least resistance instead of improving public safety. If someone died at Wareham due to crossing misuse, would DCC be liable as they had refused installation of a safe method of crossing the railway? Likewise NR Wessex are probably on dodgy ground for not insisting that a bridge with lifts or ramps is installed.
( Crossing misuse does have a history in that part of Dorset. Before the resignalling, the gates at Stoke manned LC had to be padlocked across the road by the crossing keeper to stop road users opening the gates in front of an approaching train. )

Cheers, Neil

 

It is a longer time than I would want to admit since I went to school from Wareham to Poole - but it was before the present arrangements. Without the presence of the gates and man to physically stop people, I remember personally witnessing numerous times when the foot crossing was misused by pedestrians. I think the closest that I saw was when an up train left and a group started to cross behind it despite the continued red light and 'warble alarm' - only narrowly missing being hit by the arriving down service.

I no longer live locally to Wareham, but assume that if no solution is found then the crossing will close when the existing legal agreement comes to an end. My memory is that this was originally put in place as a 'short-term' arrangement when the new road bridge was built while another solution was found for those who did not want to use that as a pedestrian access to the then new, and much smaller, Northmoor estate. It is a problem that was of the then DCC's making when the road bridge was installed - and no provision was made for long-term pedestrian access across the railway.

 

Can the gates not be controlled remotely? If it is unavoidable for someone to be present locally, why should the Council not pay for that?

 

No.. gates cannot be controlled remotely

 

I don't know the area but assume there is currently a safe method of crossing, so why should anyone expect DCC to be liable if some people deliberately misused the current system? Let those taking the risk take responsibility for their own actions (The ones who need protection are the train crew who through no fault of their own might be unfortunate enough to be involved in something where someone gets hurt).
I seem to remember several other stories over the years where various communities have opposed the removal of ground level crossings.
We live in a democracy so if the majority of those living in the area want the convenience of a ground level crossing (rather than ramps and/lifts) then so be it.

 

And although barriers can be controlled remotely, presumably pedestrians would be tempted to ignore them.
Edit: Having reminded myself that the gate is a small one only for pedestrians; what would be the problem with it being locked/unlocked and monitored remotely? What can the person on the spot do that a remote person could not do?

 

So dates back to 1973 when the road and pedestrian level crossing (with a manned signal box) was replaced by the road only bridge and no provision for mum's with pushchairs or disabled people by the planners.
So a temporary solution was made and no one can agree on a perminant solution.

 

OK the step-free ramps to the footbridge alongside the existing steps may not look pretty to the council's regulatory committee, but is probably still the best option.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpdlzg64lo

 

Not according to the residents of Wareham. Ramps too steep, but really they want things to stay as they are now.

 

OK the step-free ramps to the footbridge alongside the existing steps may not look pretty, but is probably still the best option and is in use at many other stations and road bridges.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgpdlzg64lo

 

The ramps are probably the same steepness as other ramps in use elsewhere, automated pedestrian crossings also have problems, but can be overcome.
From
https://www.swanage.news/hundreds-join-edward-fox-at-protest-to-save-wareham-crossing/
"MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole Vikki Slade, whose constituency includes Wareham, has managed to secure a face to face meeting with Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy, scheduled for Monday 24th February 2025, to ask for his help in getting all parties around the table to sort out the problem.
She has vowed to raise the issue with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions if she cannot get satisfaction any other way."
Looks like someone has to make a final discussion.