Dorchester West railway station
Dorchester West 
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| Location | |
| Place | Dorchester |
| Local authority | District of 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 |
| Grid reference | SY688902 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | DCW |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| DfT category | F1 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 64,776 |
| 2012/13 |
 0.131 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.134 million |
| 2014/15 |
0.131 million |
| – Interchange | 51 |
| 2015/16 |
0.134 million |
| – Interchange |
50 |
| 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 and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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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 Western Railway operate some Summer Saturday only services from London Waterloo and Yeovil Junction.
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.
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.
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Wikipedia