- Dorchester West railway station
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Dorchester West 
Location Place Dorchester Local authority West Dorset Coordinates 50°42′40″N 2°26′35″W / 50.711°N 2.443°WCoordinates: 50°42′40″N 2°26′35″W / 50.711°N 2.443°W Operations Station code DCW Managed by First Great Western Number of platforms 2 Live arrivals/departures and station information
from National Rail EnquiriesAnnual rail passenger usage 2002/03 * 242 2004/05 * 
3012005/06 * 
2362006/07 * 1722007/08 * 65,9612008/09 * 73,596History Original company Great Western Railway 1857 Opened National Rail - UK railway stations A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z * Annual 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. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. Dorchester West railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Dorchester in Dorset.
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.
Contents
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 the 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.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station Bradford Peverell & Stratton Halt Great Western Railway
Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth RailwayMonkton and Came Halt Services
Preceding station 
National RailFollowing station Maiden Newton First Great Western
Heart of Wessex LineUpwey 
A train leaving for Weymouth
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).
Notes
- ^ Dept of the Environment Railway Accidents - Report into the Derailment that occurred on 25 August 1974 at Dorchester West StationThe Railways Archive; Retrieved 2009-06-23
See also
- Dorchester South railway station
- Ordnance Survey 1937 map of Dorchester showing the location of the two stations
Railway stations in Dorset Exeter to London: Weymouth to London: Weymouth • Upwey • Dorchester South • Moreton • Wool • Wareham • Holton Heath • Hamworthy • Poole • Parkstone • Branksome • Bournemouth • Pokesdown • ChristchurchWeymouth to Bristol:
Heart of Wessex LineHeritage RailwaysSwanage Railway:
Purbeck LineCategories:- Railway stations in Dorchester
- Former Great Western Railway stations
- Railway stations opened in 1857
- Railway stations served by First Great Western
- DfT Category F1 stations
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