Good progress being made on ramp at Dorchester West

Disabled rail users were having to travel to Weymouth and back to get to the northbound platform

Author: Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter Published 21st May 2021

Good progress is being made with a ramp to the Dorchester West rail station.

It will mean disabled users no longer having to travel to Weymouth and then back again to head north of the GWR line.

A new no-step access ramp is being created to take passengers to the northbound platform from a specially built layby in Williams Avenue, close to Dorset County Hospital.

Local councils and Network Rail have paid into a fund of almost £300,000 to pay for the work – although it has been more than a decade since the idea was first suggested.

West Dorset MP, Chris Loder who has been lobbying for the work to start in recent years said:

“Finally seeing this work beginning is a huge relief. Disabled access to the northbound platform has been an issue for many years now. It’s disgraceful that disabled passengers are currently unable to access the platform .”

A Network Rail spokesman said they expected work on the ramp to be completed in July.

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