Station code DCW DfT category F1 Opened 1857 | Grid reference SY688902 2011/12 64,776 Number of platforms 2 | |
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Similar Dorchester South railway st, Upwey (Dorset) railway st, Moreton (Dorset) railway st, Yeovil Pen Mill railway station, Weymouth railway station | ||
Dorchester West railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England. The station is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide most services at this station. South West Trains operate some Summer Saturday only services from London Waterloo and Yeovil Junction.
Contents
The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line between Castle Cary and Weymouth and is at the southern end of a single track section from Maiden Newton. The line becomes double at the station and remains so to nearby Dorchester Junction where it joins the main line from London Waterloo station to Weymouth.
History
The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 20 January 1857, when it completed the former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line from Castle Cary and Yeovil through to Weymouth.
An accident occurred at this station in 1974 when an excursion train from Hereford to Weymouth, on its return journey, did not stop at the signal controlling the entry to the single line section, and ran into the sand drag. The locomotive (a Class 47) ran right through the sand drag and out the other side, followed by a couple of coaches. Eighteen passengers suffered minor injuries in the derailment, but no one was seriously hurt. The passengers were taken home by train via Southampton later that evening, and the loco was subsequently re-railed and recovered during the night several weeks later.
In the late 1980s, the station gained attention as being one of the worst-maintained stations in the country. Subsequent renovations have brought it up to a much more respectable standard.
Services
Great Western Railway operate services between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth (eight trains per day Mon-Sat, five on Sundays - some extended to/from Gloucester). South West Trains run an additional service running once or twice on Saturdays between Weymouth to London Waterloo operating from late May to early September each year.