SWT apprentices help Swanage Railway in teambuilding exercise

The expansion of the Swanage Railway in Dorset has been boosted as part of Volunteers Week, held between June 1-7.

A team of over 50 apprentices and graduates from Siemens and South West Trains (SWT) joined forces for a two-day teambuilding exercise - the second time the train operator and maintainer have come together to help out on the heritage railway. This year’s larger group of apprentices and graduates from all over the south of England took part, including apprentices from Ilford and Acton in London.

The team concentrated on the Herston Halt area of the existing railway, repainting and improving the station appearance, replacing ballast and clearing and sorting years of donated railway equipment. The area can now be better utilised for ongoing storage as the railway moves closer to linking with the mainline at Wareham – passenger shuttles using a DMU are due to begin this year.