Dorchester West railway station

Dorchester West
Location
Place	Dorchester
Local authority	District of West Dorset
Coordinates	50°42′40″N 2°26′35″W / 50.711°N 2.443°W / 50.711; -2.443Coordinates: 50°42′40″N 2°26′35″W / 50.711°N 2.443°W / 50.711; -2.443
Grid reference	SY688902
Operations
Station code	DCW
Managed by	First Great Western
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2002/03	242
2004/05	301
2005/06	236
2006/07	172
2007/08	65,961
2008/09	73,596
2009/10	76,600
2010/11	75,276
2011/12	64,776
2012/13	0.131 million
2013/14	0.134 million
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
1857	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Dorchester West from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Dorchester West railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England. The station is managed by First Great Western, who operate all trains serving it.

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.^[1] 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

A train leaving for Weymouth

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Maiden Newton		First Great Western Heart of Wessex Line		Upwey

The station is served by First Great Western. Most services originate from Gloucester and Bristol Temple Meads and are operated by Class 150, Class 153 or Class 158 diesel multiple units.

Eight trains in each direction call Mondays to Saturdays and three each way on Sundays all year (plus two additional trains in the summer months).

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dorchester West railway station.

• Dorchester South railway station
• Ordnance Survey 1937 map of Dorchester showing the location of the two stations

Notes