Dorchester railway station to get multi-million pound upgrade
Station owner and rail operator South Western Railway (SWR) submitted a bid to the government for an accessible bridge with a lift at the station, which would provide a permanent solution to the problem.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has now announced that a feasibility study will go ahead and if this is deemed successful, then these new lift bridge works will be added to the existing Access for All scheme.
A cost for the scheme has not been given but it is understood to be a ‘multi-million pound’ project.
The Dorchester South works will be funded by the DfT, Dorset Council and Brewery Square.
The Access for All (AfA) programme was launched in 2006 to address issues faced by disabled passengers and passengers facing mobility restraints when using railway stations.
Local councillor Molly Rennie said: “It is just fabulous news for Dorchester. The difference that it would make would just be absolutely amazing – I just can’t tell you what a difference there would be, not only for disabled people, but people with pushchairs and luggage as well.
“My hope is that they put in a temporary bridge whilst they put the lift in.”
Mayor of Dorchester Robin Potter said: “It is important that there is access for passengers to be able to cross whilst works take place on the bridge.”
Kerry Martin, a member of the charity People First Dorset – which supports adults living with learning difficulties – uses a wheelchair and has described the station as ‘a nightmare.’ She has had to travel down to Weymouth just to access the train in the past.
Kerry said: “It’s a nightmare, you want to just hop on and go but you can’t.
Andrew Ardley, South Western Railway’s (SWR) Regional Development Manager said: “We’re delighted to hear that our nomination for a feasibility study to explore the construction of an accessible bridge at Dorchester South through the government’s Access for All scheme has been successful.
“Should the feasibility study achieve a positive outcome, the project would be adopted by the Department for Transport as part of the Access for All scheme, making the station more accessible for our customers”.
SWR had nominated Dorchester South for the government’s Access for All funding scheme to design an accessible footbridge.
While funding was provided in 2020, SWR confirmed that work was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We are pleased to announce that ministers have agreed the list of 50 additional stations selected for initial feasibility work and if that is successful, will be taken forward as part of the AfA programme.”
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Community transport groups, Friends of Dorchester South Station, the Dorchester Transport Action Group and West Dorset MP Chris Loder have had meetings to secure a variety of other improvements to the station.
Robert Potter, one of the members of Friends of Dorchester South confirmed that some of these works began two years ago, including the demolition of the ‘eyesore’ vacant Red Star Parcel building.
