The Polar Express Dates and Times

PLEASE CONSULT OUR SEATING PLAN here TO SEE THE WHEREABOUTS OF YOUR TICKETS

PLEASE NOTE THAT UNDER 3’S TRAVEL FREE & DO NOT REQUIRE A TICKET. CHILDREN UNDER 3 MUST SIT ON AN ADULTS LAP. GIFTS AND REFRESHMENTS ARE DISTRIBUTED ON A 1 PER SEAT BASIS.

THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride

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 the Swanage Railway Station, Railway Station Approach, Swanage, Dorset BH19 1HB. The train cannot be boarded at any other station. The nearest long stay car park (Pay and Display) is in Victoria Avenue, BH19 1AP. 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 – You will be permitted on to the platform a maximum of 30 minutes before the departure time, this is the time stated on you ticket. Please do not arrive any earlier than 30 minutes before your departure time. Please note that we will be running trains based on demand – if a particular train time you prefer is not advertised feel free to keep checking details at SeeTickets.com as extra trains and carriages will be added once demand reaches appropriate levels.

TICKETS - 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. 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 it in mind. Failing that, 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. 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 six main carriages – Rudolph, Blitzen, Comet, Dasher, Prancer and Vixen, and 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.  All our seats are sold in chronological order, so any multiples of tickets should always be in the same vicinity.

ACCESSIBLE SEATING - Initially we will be offering accessible tickets on all rides on Saturday and Sundays only. If these sell out, we will then add them as demand dictates – firstly by adding them on the Friday trains, then Thursdays and so on.

Our accessible Cupid carriage can accommodate two wheelchair positions and a table of four, maximum. Personal Assistant tickets are available in the ratio 1 Personal Assistant:1 Access Seat/Wheelchair Space, any other accompanying travellers (up to 4) are welcome to sit in the Cupid carriage but must purchase a full price “ACCOMPANYING TRAVELLER” ticket which you’ll find under the Cupid heading on our See Tickets page. 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. 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.)

GROUP BOOKINGS - For any bookings over 12 seats, please contact groups@seetickets.com and we will try to accommodate your requests.

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 - Other than handheld bags that can be stowed beneath the seats, no luggage is allowed on board. Pushchairs and car seats are also not allowed on board, but can be stored on the platform - just speak to one of our stewards at the station for assistance.

DOGS - We will allow guide dogs and assistance dogs on all trains. We will also allow therapy/emotional support dogs on certain trains, but these need to be discussed with us directly at ticketing@crosstownconcerts.com  and we reserve the right to not allow these dogs access to the station if our staff deem their behaviours unsuitable for a busy train carrying many customers and children. All dogs must stay under seats/tables and not in the aisles, as the aisles are busy with the show performance.

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 (ask one of our stewards on boarding the train). 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 Train services. The train you will be travelling on consists of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ steam locomotive at the Swanage Railway end, and a diesel locomotive at the London end. Our carriages include a beautiful 1930s Maunsell coach (Rudolph), and five 1950s, British Railways, Standard Carriages.

CLOTHING - We encourage all our customers to wear pyjamas and dressing gowns (as in the book). This adds to the overall magical experience, but we suggest wearing closed shoes, not slippers or open-toed shoes/sliders/flip-flops. Please  dress for the potential of inclement British weather in November and December.

ADDITIONAL QUERIES - If there are any questions you cannot find here or on the Swanage Railway website https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk  then please email swanagepolarexpress@crosstownconcerts.com

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS - The operators of the event are Fused Productions, in association with Crosstown Concerts and Swanage Railway. Tickets are non-transferable – if you cannot attend the event then please refer to See Tickets terms and conditions.  Only tickets purchased via SeeTickets.com 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 from See. 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 on another time and date.

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. Under two year olds can be seated on an adult’s lap without purchasing a ticket, but any children aged 3 and over will need their own seat.

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 Seetickets.com. If for any reason you cannot locate your actual tickets, please visit  www.seetickets.com/customerservice  You will need to fill out your reference number and your postcode etc, in which case your tickets should be able to 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 honour your booking. If we can accommodate your request we will try to do so, but due to the high levels of demand for tickets we advise you to visit SeeTickets.com and refer to their resale options.

Tickets cannot be resold, used as raffle prizes or competition prizes unless agreed in advance with Crosstown Concerts. 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 behaviour – 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 behaviour 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.

Please note any personal items you bring into the station are entirely at your own risk (unless stored in a paid for cloakroom/storage area on the station).

We ask guests to arrive at the check-in time shown on your E-ticket. 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.