THE first regular timetabled service from Corfe Castle to London Waterloo in almost 50 years has launched.

A new Saturday service will run from the station until September 8 thanks to a partnership between South Western Railway (SWR) and the Swanage Railway.

Direct trains will run to Corfe Castle from Weymouth, Dorchester, Moreton and Wool, priced at £5 for a day return, and from Salisbury, Tisbury, Gillingham, Templecombe, Sherborne, Yeovil and Maiden Newton, priced at £10 for a day return.

There will also be the first regular timetabled service from Corfe Castle to London Waterloo since 1969.

The Swanage Railway will also have a discounted return steam train ticket for all passengers travelling into Corfe Castle on one of the new SWR trains and wishing to travel to Swanage.

Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, added: “This train service will really help connect the community, as well as offering transport to Wareham, Poole and Bournemouth that will be faster than being stuck in traffic.

"This is a really good initiative and I hope it's a great success."