THE POLAR EXPRESS ™

We look forward to welcoming you aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride at Swanage Railway. These are our FAQ’s – frequently asked questions! If we have missed anything we will update these FAQs regularly to enhance your experience and knowledge of what to expect on your journey. 

THE EXPERIENCE

The experience consists of approximately an hour-long return train journey leaving from Swanage Railway Station. The train cannot be boarded at any other station. The nearest long-stay car park (Pay and Display) is in Victoria Avenue, BH19 1AP, which is a ten-minute walk.  We regret there is no parking available at the station. 

On board each train will be actors appearing as characters from the book and film of THE POLAR EXPRESS™. There will be singing, dancing and interaction with our customers. All customers will receive a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie on the journey, and a special present on the return journey from the North Pole. 

ARRIVAL

Please arrive at SWANAGE station no earlier than 30 mins prior to your booked departure time. (Times may be slightly subject to change but we will do our utmost to keep to these timetables). Please note that we will be running trains based on demand – if a particular train time you prefer is not advertised, please keep following the Swanage Polar Express social media channels as extra trains and carriages may be added once demand reaches appropriate levels. Please allow plenty of time for your journey to Swanage, trains cannot be delayed by late arrivals.

TICKETS

Your seats are reserved at time of booking, Your seating details will be emailed to the address provided at the time of booking, approximately 7 days prior to travel. Please bring this with you on the day.

Your E-ticket will be scanned on arrival at the station and exchanged for a Golden Ticket to board the train. We will not be sending out any Golden Tickets in the post. 

Please arrive at the time stated on your E-ticket, and on the correct day! We are selling multiple rides/carriages/train rides daily so do please check before you leave for Swanage! 

PARKING

The nearest parking to the station is Main Beach Car Park (Pay and Display), Victoria Avenue, Swanage BH19 1AP. What3Words users can use the following to find the car park: automate.crunch.greet. This car park is approximately 10 minutes' walk from the station. It’s on an accessible route, but it does include a short hill so please bear that in mind. The station is very central in Swanage – we cannot offer an official drop off point due to the local road system, but if you do need to drop friends or family off nearby, please do it carefully and be courteous to other drivers. We regret there is no parking available at the station. Please allow plenty of time for your journey to Swanage, trains cannot be delayed by late arrivals.

TRAVEL

Sadly there is no main line rail station at Swanage, so please allow plenty of time to reach Swanage by road. If for any reason you arrive too late to board the train you are booked on, we will do our best to accommodate you on the next available train, but we cannot always guarantee this will be possible on the same day due to the large demand expected for the experience. 

SEATING

Our carriages have seating arranged in 4’s around a table. We have a total of five main carriages – Rudolph, Blitzen, Cupid, Comet and Vixen.  Cupid is our accessible carriage (details below). Our stewards will direct you to the correct carriage, your seat numbers will be on your E-ticket. Please direct any queries regarding seating to the onboard stewards who are there to help you. Due to the high demand for tickets, it is likely you will be sharing the fun of your THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride with another family. If you wish to be seated with another family, please make one booking, otherwise we cannot guarantee you will seated in the same vicinity. We retain the authority to modify carriage configuration and your seating arrangements without prior notice.

ACCESSIBLE SEATING

Accessible tickets are available to purchase. Our accessible Cupid carriage can accommodate one wheelchair position and four other passengers, maximum. One accompanying carer travels free when wheelchair space is booked. No other carer tickets are available. 

Please contact the Swanage Railway to book this facility swanagerailway.co.uk/contact

Please note Cupid is the only wheelchair accessible carriage, due to the age of our train set. A ramp is available at the stations to provide wheelchair access to Cupid, and our stewards and train crews will be happy to assist. 

Please note that our ramps have a safe weight limit of 300kg. The maximum dimensions of any wheelchair or electronic scooter is: Length: 1200mm (3ft 11in approx.) Width: 700mm (2ft 3in approx.) Maximum combined weight of user and scooter: 300kg (47st 3lb approx.) 

If any customer is able to transfer from a wheelchair to a standard seat, then please purchase a standard ticket, and our stewards will be on hand to help you to your seat in the relevant carriage.

GROUP BOOKINGS

For any bookings over 15 seats, please contact Swanage Railway direct and we will try to accommodate your requests. swanagerailway.co.uk/contact

THE JOURNEY

Just for clarification the train DOES move! It leaves from Swanage station then travels for approximately 30 minutes before reaching the North Pole, at which point the train will stop, then return to Swanage. In case of mechanical malfunction, we reserve the right to replace the steam engine with a diesel alternative and in extreme cases the show may take place on a static train – but rest assured we will be doing our utmost to make sure this does not happen! 

LUGGAGE/PUSHCHAIRS

No luggage is allowed on board. Pushchairs and car seats are also not allowed on board but can be stored on the platform at your own risk. Just speak to one of our stewards at the station for assistance. 

DOGS

We will allow guide dogs and assistance dogs on all trains. All dogs must stay under seats/tables and not in the aisles, as the aisles are busy with the show performance.   Please contact us at swanagerailway.co.uk/contact

TOILETS

Please note that due to the age of our train set, no toilets or baby changing facilities are available on board the train. All toilets are on the station platform, so please make sure to use the toilet facilities at the station before we leave as the train ride lasts an hour. 

ALLERGIES

All customers are offered a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie on board. We will offer an alternative to anyone with allergies.  Please select your correct allergy preferences for your entire party at time of booking tickets. If you have any questions with this process then please do no hesitate to get in touch with us.

Please note because of the large number of people using the train each day, we cannot make the train safe for anyone with extreme nut allergies. 

TRAIN SET

The Swanage Railway operates Heritage Trains from the 1930s. The train you will be travelling on consists of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ steam locomotive at the Swanage end, and a diesel locomotive at the London end. Our carriages are British Railways carriages from the 1950s. Please be aware that all our carriages are heritage stock, so they may vary in style, age, seating, and exhibit signs of wear and tear. 

CLOTHING

We encourage all our customers to wear pyjamas and dressing gowns (as in the film. This adds to the overall magical experience, but we suggest wearing closed shoes, not slippers or open-toed shoes/sliders/flip-flops. The Swanage Railway operates Heritage Trains from the 1950s. Please dress for the potential inclement British weather in November and December.

FOOD & DRINK

Event organisers will be offering a selection of drinks and snacks available to purchase from the station. The hot chocolate and cookie are included in your ticket price and will be served during the performance onboard the train. No other food with be available to purchase once the show has started.

MERCHANDISE

There will be the opportunity to buy official merchandise before and after the performance. This will be available at designated merchandise points around the station. Card payments will be accepted. 

ADDITIONAL QUERIES

If there are any questions you cannot find here or on the Swanage Railway website https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/polar-express then please contact us by using the contact form swanagerailway.co.uk/contact.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS - Updated 13.5.2024

The operators of the event are Polar Productions, in association with Swanage Railway.

The Swanage Railway is acting as a tickets agent on behalf of Polar Productions.

Tickets are non-transferable – Tickets cannot be exchanged, changed or refunded after purchase.  Only tickets purchased via swanagerailway.co.uk are permissible, any tickets purchased via Viagogo or any other third-party sites are not valid and will be refused entry. 

Your tickets permit you passage on board the experience only, at the time stated on your E-ticket. If we have to vary the times of any trains due to any reason, we will always seek to reschedule you to a new suitable date wherever possible. Please note that as on general mainline trains, we will close the doors to the trains before departure and any latecomers will not be able to board the train unless our staff view it as safe to do so. If for any reason we have to suspend or cancel the train rides, then all customers are entitled to a refund on their booking or are offered a replacement ticket at another time and date. 

The booking fees are non-refundable under any circumstances.

 All children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Any unaccompanied people who appear to be under the age of 16 will require proof of age in order to board the train.  Please note, there is no discount for any children, all seats are sold at full price at all times. Children under the age of 2 do not require a separate ticket and can be seated on the lap of a parent or guardian.  Children aged 2 and over will need their own seat and ticket. 

Events outside our control – We will not be held liable for any failure to provide any performance or train ride that is prevented by events outside our control – these include but are not limited to: Earthquake, subsidence, epidemic, pandemic, any natural disaster, government travel ban, or anything that prevents travel in and out of Swanage (such as severe weather, heavy snow etc.). We will contact customers as soon as possible if we foresee any delays to trains, and where possible we will always offer an alternative booking if we are able to do so. All tickets for the event are sold via swanagerailway.co.uk/polar-express

If for any reason you cannot locate your e-ticket, please visit swanagerailway.co.uk/contact

You will need to fill out your reference number and your postcode etc. in which case your tickets should be able to be accessed. Please note if you are not able to attend on the date and time you booked, for whatever reason, we are not obligated to honor your booking. If we can accommodate your request we will try to do so. Tickets cannot be resold, used as raffle prizes or competition prizes unless agreed in advance with Swanage Railway and Polar Productions. No refunds at any point will be available for any raffle or competition prize tickets issued. By entering Swanage Station and the train ride provided you consent to your image being recorded for use in promotional videos for subsequent THE POLAR EXPRESS™ rides. If you do not wish to allow this consent, you must make this known before having your E-tickets exchanged for Golden Tickets on entering the station. 

General behavior – Please behave appropriately and lawfully on board the train, given that many families will be in attendance. Any customers deemed intoxicated will be prevented from entering the station or boarding the train. No alcohol, other than any purchased at Swanage Station will be allowed on the platforms or trains, and any customers who are evidently using their own alcohol will be requested to leave the station. We will not tolerate any abusive or threatening behavior to any of our staff. We will be doing our utmost to provide a positive magical experience for all attendees. Our staff are working long hours to achieve this so please treat them with respect and tolerance at all times. We reserve the right to refuse and remove access to the carriage and event to anyone we consider a nuisance or danger to our passengers or our staff. If you are refused entry or removed due to nuisance behavior, we maintain the right to cancel your ticket without refund.

Please note any personal items you bring into the station are entirely at your own risk.  We reserve the right to examine all luggage and belongings to ensure the safety and security of both our staff and customers. If you've lost any items, kindly notify us promptly. Should we locate any of your items, we will securely store them at a location of our choosing, at your own risk. If your belongings remain unclaimed after 1 month from our receipt or discovery, we reserve the right to dispose of them as we see fit.

Please arrive at SWANAGE station no earlier than 30 mins prior to your booked departure time. Once your experience is over you can spend as much time in our gift shop as you wish but we tend to find guests spend around 15min here before leaving. We look forward to welcoming you to Swanage Railway for a magical experience.

THE POLAR EXPRESS and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s24) Based on THE POLAR EXPRESS book and characters © & ™ 1985 by Chris Van Allsburg. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.