D Williams
Member
The harsh reality of heritage railway economics that gets in the way of the rose-tinted approach. I doubt that the board will have any difficulty in making a decision about next year's service unless an external subsidy appears.
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Swanage Railway announce 2023 Wareham service
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I regret to say that the financial issues caused by the Wareham service were entirely predictable indeed many members of the railway voiced their concerns repeatedly that it placed the railway at considerable risk. Unfortunately the railway had promoted the idea of a Wareham service for many years (indeed it was stated in the railways objectives from the earliest preservation society) to the point that the then Dorset Council and others effectively called their bluff by providing what Swanage Railway said it needed to operate the service: paying for the DMUs to be refurbished, paying for the line between Norden and the network rail boundary at Worgret to be upgraded and the inclusion of Worgret junction within the Poole - Wool resignalling scheme. Swanage Railway has benefitted by one means or another of about £5M of taxpayers money.
For the FD of SRC's benefit it is worth pointing out that free travel for senior citizens of a certain age has been in place since 2007 so not exactly something new and thus its effects should have already been present within Swanage Railways budgeted passenger figures.
EDIT - if the railway only took £9000 of Wareham fares in May that equates to only 20 round trip passengers per day on the Wareham service. (18 operating days and £25 return). There may have been more passengers for example children and privs paying a lower fare but that doesnt alter the basic revenue issues.
It is also worth noting that Swanage Railway is currently recruiting a CEO anecdotally on a salary of in excess of £60K.
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That's about what the Head Teacher of a medium sized Primary School gets, for a (non railway!) comparison.
I think they were referring to the added impact of the £2 cap.
I've just come back from my trip on the line.
As discussed above I only used the service in one direction due to the absence of period returns (they are missing out on extra revenue by not offering these).
Loadings at Wareham were impressive. The SWR ticket office couldn't sell tickets due to a fault with their credit card machine - SWR staff there also said that there was no rover ticket available from Wareham, which there is, but probably can't be helped that SWR staff don't know this.
There was no obvious way to buy tickets from Swanage Railway staff at Wareham so we boarded. No one came along to take a fare before the station at which we were alighting, Corfe Castle, so we got off without paying. Of course we then went on to buy our rover ticket at Corfe Castle but we won't now count in the stats as boarding at Wareham.
Overall we had a lovely day out on the railway, enjoyed several trips up and down and all the trains seemed very well loaded, including the DMU (shame the bubble car can't be turned so you could see out the Swanage end).
As noted I'd have been happy to pay more for a period return, but wasn't going to pay £40 for two singles and no rover travel, so the bus got my custom on the way back. Of course, you don't know how much extra custom you'd attract if the fares were lowered, attracting potential extra trade and their ancillary spend.
Off topic, but really not sure about the National Rail style automated announcements at stations, nor the electronic departure screens, which rather detract from the period ambience!
As discussed above I only used the service in one direction due to the absence of period returns (they are missing out on extra revenue by not offering these).
Loadings at Wareham were impressive. The SWR ticket office couldn't sell tickets due to a fault with their credit card machine - SWR staff there also said that there was no rover ticket available from Wareham, which there is, but probably can't be helped that SWR staff don't know this.
There was no obvious way to buy tickets from Swanage Railway staff at Wareham so we boarded. No one came along to take a fare before the station at which we were alighting, Corfe Castle, so we got off without paying. Of course we then went on to buy our rover ticket at Corfe Castle but we won't now count in the stats as boarding at Wareham.
Overall we had a lovely day out on the railway, enjoyed several trips up and down and all the trains seemed very well loaded, including the DMU (shame the bubble car can't be turned so you could see out the Swanage end).
As noted I'd have been happy to pay more for a period return, but wasn't going to pay £40 for two singles and no rover travel, so the bus got my custom on the way back. Of course, you don't know how much extra custom you'd attract if the fares were lowered, attracting potential extra trade and their ancillary spend.
Off topic, but really not sure about the National Rail style automated announcements at stations, nor the electronic departure screens, which rather detract from the period ambience!
Williamn’s experience above combined with my own last week makes me quite concerned as a member that revenue collection on the Wareham trains has really not been very tight.
On the day I travelled a passenger count was being done by a lady with a clipboard so hopefully someone will notice that the fares collected don’t tally with the number of passengers.
On the day I travelled a passenger count was being done by a lady with a clipboard so hopefully someone will notice that the fares collected don’t tally with the number of passengers.
1) I think part of the reason why period returns are not offered (on the Wareham) is because the service does not run daily. Having said that the demand for period returns will be quite small so possibly the infamous "more trouble than its worth" argument prevailed.
2) I am not sure how good the passenger numbers have been this summer. There are far fewer services this year so the services may be busier but overall passenger numbers may be down.
3) The elasticity of demand (lower fares = more passengers) of heritage railways has been discussed on a number of occasions. The consensus was the additional passengers would not compensate for the lower per person revenue.
4) Ancillary spend on Swanage Railway is low by heritage railway standards. A limited catering offer and a small shop (combined with high levels of competition) result in comparatively low ancillary spend.
5) Travelling Ticket Inspection / on board fare collection has been carried out by a mix of paid and volunteer staff. Volunteer recruitment and retention has been quite a challenge so I am not surprised if there have been issues with non collection.
6) During the last wareham trial year 2017 Swanage Railway had a ticket office (actually a caravan) in the station car park but the space has been occupied by the new cycle racks. There were issues with power and internet accessibility. Obviously such an office has to be staffed, probably by paid staff, which calls into questions its viability / cost effectiveness compared with having someone on the train which sadly takes us back to point 4.
IIRC the Morebus return fare pre cap was £9 so now at £4 (£2 each way). I wonder how many customers would choose the train at £25 versus £9 bus but then choose the bus when the comparison is £25 versus £4. It seems odd to me that it would make that much difference.
I am not aware of the figures but from memory 2022 passenger numbers were significantly below the pre-covid years and thus may just be getting back to some form of normality. In any case the crucial months are July - August.
It would be helpful if Swanage Railway published complete comparable data (say 5 years of month to month and year to date) rather than selective data.
D Williams
Member
With regard to tickets, I've just had a look at the Swanage Railway website and excluding season tickets, there is a total of 117 different tickets offered for various combinations of journeys. Add to this priv tickets and this appears to be a very complex system. The Freedom of the Line ticket stands out as an unjustifiable penalty to anyone wishing to visit the railway rather than only using it as a means of transport. Perhaps something for a new CEO to look at?
341o2
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I sincerely hope that this is indeed an anecdote.
The article quoted earlier does tie up with a comment I have heard, that the railway will go to the council and tell them that if they want the Wareham service in the future, please provide us with a subsidy.
D Williams
Member
This may not be far from the mark as their website has the following advert;
Fundraising Manager
Hybrid/Flexible
Swanage, Dorset
Full Time – Permanent
Salary – £45,000
Dai Corner
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How much do you feel a heritage railway CEO should be paid?
£60k for a heritage railway general manager/ceo is bottom end of the market for the southeast anyway. Average male salary for Dorset is £38k.
For the council to give SRT / SRC a subsidy would be madness imho. Let us not forget that the council has no money of its own just the money it receives in one form or another from the tax payer. Why should the tax payer subsidise such a limited service - one that only operates 4 times a day for 90 days a year using traction which fails to meet basic emission standards and has very limited accessibility for prm (passengers of reduced mobility)? By its own admission passenger numbers on the wareham service in May were well below forecast blaming the subsidised bus fares on the Go South Coast 40 service. As Go South Coast already receives tax payer support why should the tax payer effectively subsidise "competing services" just so that Swanage Railway can provide an inferior* alternative?
* Dates of operation, length of operating day, frequency of service, range of drop off and pick points, accessibility, emission standards, fares.
As regards payment for a CEO the real question has to be asked just what powers will the CEO have or will they just be carrying out the wishes and diktats of the Board of Directors?
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A board of directors, if functioning properly, shouldn't be issuing diktats, but providing strategy and oversight. I've no idea what the board of Swanage Railway is like though!
CEO pay seems reasonable and perhaps even on the low side to me.
To the point that @Titfield makes about period returns - yes I'd agree on most heritage lines I'd not expect to see them, but with Swanage being such a big holiday and short break destination it would seem to be worth at least trying them. Given the £3m of council money that went into the extension you'd hope that every possible way of increasing traffic would be tried.
CEO pay seems reasonable and perhaps even on the low side to me.
To the point that @Titfield makes about period returns - yes I'd agree on most heritage lines I'd not expect to see them, but with Swanage being such a big holiday and short break destination it would seem to be worth at least trying them. Given the £3m of council money that went into the extension you'd hope that every possible way of increasing traffic would be tried.
Anecdotally the last General Manager resigned because he didnt have the power to make decisions and see them carried through. SRC has had quite a succession of General Managers .......
One of the problems I perceive of the Swanage Railway is that huge amounts of time and effort are expended on jaw jaw, formulating plans etc when in reality it is quite a simple business.
The challenges that SRC face (apart from the challenges common to most if not all businesses) in no specific order:
1. Wareham Service: Operate it yes or no.
2. Dining Train: Operate it yes or no. (Requires overhaul of dining set).
3. Static Catering: Decide on the format, decide on whether to keep in house or out source.
4. Shop: How to improve to increase secondary spend.
5. Core timetable: dates of operation and timetable NB note impact of Wareham.
6. Events: which ones to run, which ones to ditch and how to make them profit generating.
7. Volunteers: massive improvement in recruitment and retention required.
SRC makes a lot of how they are negatively impacted by events outside of their control but imho a lot of the problems are self inflicted.
I reckon the SRC could be turned around within 2 years. The only thing that would stop it would be the SRC itself (or another lockdown).
Paul Hitchcock
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This correspondence is a graphic illustration of the fundamental incompatibility between public transport use and leisure or educational functions. Swanage plus others need to decide which they want to choose.
D6130
Established Member
Yes....the Wensleydale Railway realised this several years ago and, IMHO, made the correct decision.
Part of the problem is that SRC accepted the Kings shilling and now find they cant uphold their side of the bargain.
In a nutshell Swanage Railway said we want to reinstate services along the full length of the branch to Wareham. We have the drive and enthusiasm and can cover the direct operating costs out of fares, what we need is Dorset Council and or others to pay the capital cost of suitable DMUs, pay the capital cost of upgrading the branch infrastructure between Norden and Worgret Junction and pay for the branch being included in the Wool - Wareham resignalling scheme (as otherwise the junction would have been removed and the SRC marooned).
C£5M of taxpayers money later and SRC find that they can not cover the direct operating costs out of fare revenue hence indications of going back to Dorset Council and asking for support to cover the direct operating costs.
The benefit of charters using the branch line to get to Swanage is virtually zero as there are so few charters. Worse still when locomotives and carriages go off site for refurbishment or overhaul they go on the back of a low loader rather than by rail as it is cheaper using a low loader.
A lot is talked about the benefits of using rail to reduce traffic congestion in the Isle of Purbeck. My view is that the benefit is minimal indeed if at all. Where is the proof that operating services to / from wareham take cars off the road? You can not just say because x passengers go on the train they have left their car at home. How do we know that those passengers would have come to Swanage by car if no train was operating. They could have travelled by bus or indeed not travelled at all. The real congestion in Purbeck is the section between the A35 at the Bakers Arms Roundabout along the A351 to Wareham. This congestion is not touched by SRC services directly. Also there is the question of emissions. Given that the DMU uses 6 pre euro diesel engines I wonder how that compares with a modern Euro 6 Double Decker used by Go South Coast or indeed how many modern cars would it take to match that level of emission?
IMHO SRC should bite the bullet and kick it into touch. It was a good idea at the time when first mooted but times and the economics of operating such a service have changed. If it is such a good idea then SWR should have operating a service between Swanage and Wareham included in their franchise agreement and the shortfall born by taxpayers as a whole.
In terms of emissions I can't really see that operation of a dmmu on Swanage to Wareham is much of an issue. The vehicle is relatively low powered and operated at low speed so CO2 emmisions will be low. When compared to a euro 6 bus NO2 emissions will be higher but NO2 is really only an issue in urban areas with high density of traffic. The highest density in Purbeck will almost certainly be someone with a gas hob in their kitchen or gas fire in their lounge. Combustion Particulates will probably be higher from the steam engines or campfires along the line.
True but it is both the public perception of "dirty diesels" and how local authorities (the type of organisation that SRC will be approaching for a subsidy) may add (or be compelled to add) conditions to the granting of a public transport subsidy that may cause an issue.
From a PR point of view Dorset Council funding enhanced public transport that uses some of the most polluting diesels around may be a somewhat difficult sell. If I was Andrew Wickham (MD of Go South Coast) I may feel hard done by if a rival organisation was given a subsidy to compete in this way.
I understand that SRC was given the details of how Sir Peter Hendy's Routemaster was re-engined to Euro 6 compliance standard.
https://www.transportengineer.org.u...chieves-low-emission-bus-certification/156910
I think there's potential for a rail service to take traffic off the roads. There's a lot of people who are happy to travel by train but would never consider a bus. A same platform change at Wareham is much more convenient (esp with luggage or shopping), than leaving the station and waiting for the bus, especially as travelling with luggage on a double decker bus is never easy.
The buses are already very busy and I saw at least one that was full and leaving passengers waiting for the next.
I think cutting traffic through Corfe Castle might also be a consideration - it was gridlocked when I was there.
The buses are already very busy and I saw at least one that was full and leaving passengers waiting for the next.
I think cutting traffic through Corfe Castle might also be a consideration - it was gridlocked when I was there.
Yes but only if the rail service is attractively priced, runs daily and with a good timetable (hours of operation and frequency). It is a bit of an ask to get those in receipt of the free bus pass to pay to go by rail instead! One of the other advantages that the bus has is that it serves Wareham town centre as well as the railway station. It is a bit of a walk to the railway station from town.
The buses are only really busy on a very small number of days in the school summer holidays.
Invincible
Member
The SR accountant in the SR magazine is basically asking for a level playing pitch with Dorset buses which have had over half a million pounds subsidy this year.
The passenger numbers and costs for the Wareham service might be confirmed after the trial finishes September. From Modern Railways magazine there seems to be discussions going with SWR, the Purbeck Railway partnership, the council and DfT to help get a Wareham to Swanage DMMU service back in 2024 for tourists travelling by SWR.
Maybe also having a SR volunteer crew (rather than WCR) might also help reduce costs?
Using biodiesel fuel may be feasible for the heritage DMMU rather than changing for Euro 6 diesel engines. However with batteries becoming less expensive and fast charge technology, it may be possible to sometime replace the diesel engines with electric motors and still be a heritage class 117 train, especially if the service just becomes the shorter Wareham to Corfe shuttle route, and an easy change to the steam trains
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I am sure that Go South Coast buses would love a level playing field because Dorset Council paid for what were basically scrap DMUs to be refurbished to mainline standards. Would Dorset Council pay for Go South Coasts next fleet of buses? I think not!
I would be more than happy for Dorset Council to subsidise the Wareham service if it ran every day of the year (except Christmas and Boxing day) and ran at least every hour from 07:00 to 23:00. A level playing field is level in all directions!
The reality is that SRC have got themselves in a mess of their own making and now want to be bailed out by the taxpayer. IMHO it is not a good use of taxpayers money.
I have copied this next section from a post I made to another thread - the one about heritage railway extensions.
I have to confess to being somewhat intrigued by this "subsidy" ie a loss of £100K.
My intrigue stems from:
1) the DMUs (1 X Class 117 and 1 X Class 121) were provided free of charge by Dorset County Council who paid the vast majority of the cost of refurbishment to mainline standards. The shortfall was caused by the cost of the refurbishment increasing because all the axles and wheels on the units were condemned when crack tested. SRC had not taken account of this possibility. All the other capital costs (line upgrade and signalling improvements) were paid for by others. (Chalk and Cheese Fund and Network Rail).
2) The DMU servicing centre at Corfe Castle Station was funded (whether 100% or less I do not know) by a grant from the Talbot Trust.
3) Despite many years work (at least 8) and the payment of fees to Rail Business Solutions, SRC has not been granted its mainline operating certificate (or whatever the correct wording is). The service is being operated by WCR using WCR drivers and SRC Guards and TTIs (I believe) but using the aforementioned SRC rolling stock.
4) The cost of Public Liability Insurance for operation on the mainline is very high indeed even though the amount (distance) of running on the mainline is small. (From Worgret Junction to Wareham Station). I think but am not sure that WCR's insurance has to be used.
5) SRC does not set aside money from revenues for future refurbishment of rolling stock. IE there is no fund for the DMUs overhaul when they become due.
6) It also appears that the Wareham service is being run as some form of pseudo charter so that some of the passenger service obligations of running a scheduled servcie do not have to be complied with.
If the loss ends up being £100K over 90 days service (compared with £70K over 60 days service in 2017) then proportionately it is slightly better but in 2023 SRC does not have to hire in the rolling stock it did in 2017. Looking at the two years, despite the difference in economic circumstances, the result is still the same - a significant loss. As is said in the film Frozen "let it go".
IMHO SRC should tell Dorset Council that the Wareham service is unviable and say it will not run again. If Dorset Council want SRC to operate it, then Dorset Council would have to pay at least twice Swanage Railways loss on this years operation (if not more). The reason I say twice is that I am not confident that Swanage Railway allocate all the costs incurred by an activity and SRC could not afford to run the risk of undercharging Dorset Council and finding itself in financial difficulty as a result of operating the service in future years.
I struggle to see why potential customers would drive to Wareham (and park) to catch the DMU service (whether to interchange or not at Corfe Castle to steam) when they can drive to Norden and catch the steam service from there.
The benefit is in persuading customers to ditch the car and use mainline services to Wareham and connect there. However imho it just is not sufficiently appealing for customers to get mainline to Wareham and connect for services to Swanage: combined fares too high, service only operates 4 days a week, lack of frequency, concerns over connections etc.
Dai Corner
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Only a tiny fraction of which was for Wareham to Corfe Castle. I bet buses in Dorset haven't had £5m of infrastructure and vehicle funding from public funds either.
Invincible
Member
If the bus subsidy is as much as the SR treasurer suggests, then they will have enough to buy new buses and still pay a dividend to their shareholders (which are also train companies).
Also in the past the road from Wareham to Corfe did had a lot of money spent on it.
But boosting tourist train use will help solve the remaining road congestion in Purbeck.
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Yes paid for aiui by BP when they developed the Wytch Farm Oil Field. Which of course neatly brings me to add that BP (and BPs successor Perenco) provided a considerable sum of money to pay for the level crossing to be installed at Norden Gates. (£500K ?).
The reality is that Swanage Railway have had a shed load of money from the tax payer and one or two other organisations. If revenues from the Wareham service can not cover the direct operating costs then it should be abandoned full stop end of story. Add in the non direct operating costs (line maintenance, renewals and repairs) and it becomes a money pit.
tumbles
Member
Also worth pointing out a weeks parking in main beach car park is less (£40) than two adult day returns from Wareham (£50)
At present it doesn’t make sense on many levels. I don’t know what the solution is.. other than 1) ditching the Wareham dream or 2) the Swanage railway dying financially and similar to what happened with Oakhampton .
I think there are broadly three "options":
1) Ditch Wareham and concentrate on rebuilding the heritage steam railways patronage levels.
2) Continue with Wareham but with a subsidy from Dorset Council (though this requires DC to provide the grant)
3) Work very hard on a solution where a TOC provides a service to say Norden / Corfe Castle but this does not damage the heritage rail service.
(One solution would be to build a second platform at Norden so the TOC can use one platform and SRC the other. It makes sense to have two so that movements can be almost simultaneous and avoid having one train to clear the platform before the next can arrive.)
Could a TOC operate to / from Swanage early and late (when SRC is operating) but all day when SRC is not. There are many challenges to overcome in such a scenario not least with signalling, access to stations etc.
My fear is that a Wareham service operated by SRC is not only financially challenging but adds a great deal of work and complexity to a railway that is quite frankly struggling. Struggling financially, struggling to recruit and retain volunteers. Even if there was subsidy to employ staff, recruiting them on the Isle of Purbeck is far from easy and may upset the very delicate balance between volunteers and paid staff.
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