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General information | |
Location | Weymouth, Dorset England |
Coordinates | 50°36′58″N2°27′18″W / 50.616°N 2.455°W Coordinates: 50°36′58″N2°27′18″W / 50.616°N 2.455°W |
Grid reference | SY679797 |
Managed by | South Western Railway |
Platforms | 3 |
Other information | |
Station code | WEY |
Classification | DfT category C1 |
History | |
Original company | Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway |
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Key dates | |
20 January 1857 | Opened |
Passengers | |
2017/18 | ![]() |
2018/19 | ![]() |
Interchange | 6,117 |
2019/20 | ![]() |
Interchange | ![]() |
2020/21 | ![]() |
Interchange | ![]() |
2021/22 | ![]() |
Interchange | ![]() |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail &Road |
Weymouth railway station is the main railway station serving the town of Weymouth,Dorset,England (the other being Upwey station which is located north of the town centre). The station is the southern terminus of both the South West Main Line,142 miles 64 chains (229.8 km) down the line from London Waterloo,and the Heart of Wessex Line from Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester,168 miles 63 chains (271.6 km) from London Paddington. [1]
The Wilts,Somerset and Weymouth Railway,which was authorised in 1845,was built in stages (during which the company was absorbed in 1850 by the Great Western Railway). [2] [3] Two of the last sections,from Yeovil Pen Mill to Weymouth and a connecting curve from that line to the Dorchester station of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR),were opened on 20 January 1857. [4] The LSWR was granted running powers from Dorchester to Weymouth, [5] where some of the platforms were dedicated for LSWR use;these powers were exercised from the opening day. [4] [6] The station was named Weymouth,although some timetables showed it as Weymouth Town. [7] Branches to Portland and Weymouth Quay (both opened in 1865) ran from Weymouth Junction,just north of the station. [8]
The original station buildings were designed by T. H. Bertram and constructed in timber with a glazed overall roof across the tracks;this was removed after WW2. By the turn of the century the station area comprised five platforms,a large goods yard,and a small LSWR engine shed;the GWR had a larger shed situated north of the station. Nearby,Melcombe Regis served Portland passenger trains until 1952 and provided an overflow platform for excursion trains on busy summer weekends until 1959.
After the Second World War,the station saw rapid growth in holiday and Channel Islands traffic. As a result,the station underwent a major expansion in the late 1950s,gaining two lengthy excursion platforms (which now serve today's station),additional sidings adjacent to Jubilee Gardens,and a new signal box to replace two older boxes. However traffic soon declined and the station was progressively rationalised after the end of steam-hauled operations in 1967 with the goods yard closing in 1972 and the signal box and most of the remaining sidings being taken out of use in 1987. Although the current station is a mere shadow of its former self,the extension of third-rail electrification from Bournemouth in 1988 has given the station much improved services to London.
The station and forecourt were reconstructed at a cost of £750,000 and formally opened on 3 July 1986 by the Mayor of Weymouth and Portland,Councillor David Hall,who unveiled a commemorative plaque in the ticket hall. [9] The station,which was rebuilt in Network SouthEast livery,was provided with enhanced ticket office facilities,a travel centre,Red Star Parcels point and an improved car park. [9] In its final years,the old Weymouth station was far too big for the traffic it was handling.
In 2022 the area outside the station was rebuilt. The work included the installation of a new bus stop. [10]
Services at Weymouth are operated by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway.
On weekdays and Saturdays,South Western Railway operates two trains per hour to London Waterloo. One of these is a stopping service calling at most stops to Winchester,then Basingstoke,Clapham Junction and London Waterloo. The second is a semi-fast service calling at principal stations only to Winchester,then Woking and London Waterloo. On Sundays,the service is reduced to hourly. [12]
On weekdays and Saturdays,Great Western Railway operates eight trains per day to Bristol Temple Meads,with a number of these continuing to Gloucester. On Sundays,this is reduced to between three and five trains per day depending on the time of year. [12]
Preceding station | ![]() | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Upwey or Dorchester South | South Western Railway | Terminus | ||
Great Western Railway | ||||
Disused railways | ||||
Terminus | Great Western Railway | Weymouth Quay | ||
GWR and LSWR | Melcombe Regis | |||
Historical railways | ||||
Line open,station closed | Great Western Railway | Terminus |
Weymouth Quay railway station is a disused terminus in the town. Its passenger station was used solely for trains connecting with cross-channel ferries, which have not run since 1987. Its use had been suggested as part of the transport infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic sailing events to take place on the Isle of Portland, though since it is accessed via the Weymouth Harbour Tramway, which ran along public streets, this posed difficulties. Previously, the branch saw both freight and passenger traffic, most recently fuel-oil trains. [8] The tracks through the streets were removed October-December 2020, save for a couple of short sections to show the former track alignment.
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter and Plymouth, and to Padstow, Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading.
Yeovil Junction railway station is the busier, but less central, of two railway stations serving the town of Yeovil in England. The station is 2 miles (3.2 km) outside the town, in the village of Stoford. Although Yeovil is in Somerset, the station was in Dorset until 1991. It is 122 miles 48 chains (197.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Exeter St Davids is the principal railway station serving the city of Exeter in Devon, England. It is 193 miles 72 chains from the zero point at London Paddington on the line through Bristol which continues to Plymouth and Penzance. It is also served by an alternative route to London Waterloo via Salisbury and branch lines to Exmouth, Barnstaple, and Okehampton. It is currently managed by Great Western Railway and is served by trains operated by Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and CrossCountry.
Salisbury railway station serves the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR), and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).
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. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line between Castle Cary and Weymouth, 161.63 miles from the zero point at London Paddington, 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 just before nearby Dorchester Junction, where the line joins the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.
Swindon railway station is on the Great Western Main Line in South West England, serving the town of Swindon, Wiltshire. It is 77 miles 23 chains down the line from the zero point at London Paddington and is situated between Didcot Parkway and Chippenham on the main line. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates all the trains.
Pontyclun railway station is an unstaffed, minor railway station in Pontyclun, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The station is at street level, on Station Approach, Pontyclun. It is a stop on the South Wales Main Line, served by trains on the Maesteg Line, and occasionally by the Swanline Cardiff to Swansea regional services, as well as one early-morning daily service to Manchester and a late-night daily service to Carmarthen. The station and all trains are operated by Transport for Wales Rail.
Plymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941. It was rebuilt in 1903.
The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with the Great Western Railway (GWR), which built its main line between London and Bristol, and in time formed part of a through route between London and Cornwall.
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850.
The Bridport Railway was a railway branch line that operated in the county of Dorset in England. It connected Bridport with the main line network at Maiden Newton, and opened on 12 November 1857. It was extended to West Bay in 1884, but the extension was not well used and it closed to passengers in 1930.
The Abbotsbury Railway was a standard gauge railway line which ran in the west of the county of Dorset in England opening in 1885. Although great hopes of mineral traffic drove the original construction of the line, these failed to materialise and after a quiet existence carrying local passengers and agricultural produce, the line closed in 1952.
The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received Parliamentary authority in 1845 and opened in 1847. It was promoted by Charles Castleman of Wimborne Minster, and became known as Castleman's Corkscrew because of the meandering route it followed.
The Berks and Hants Railway comprised two railway lines built simultaneously by the Great Western Railway (GWR) south and west from Reading in an attempt to keep the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the area that it considered to be its territory in England.
The Langport and Castle Cary Railway is a railway line from Castle Cary railway station to Cogload Junction near Taunton, Somerset, England, which reduced the length of the journey from London to Penzance by 20+1⁄4 miles (32.6 km).
Wilton South railway station is a disused railway station which formerly served Wilton in Wiltshire, England. It was situated on the West of England Main Line from London Waterloo station to Exeter and close to the Great Western Railway’s Wilton station on its Salisbury branch from Westbury.
The Salisbury branch line of the Great Western Railway from Westbury to Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, was completed in 1856. Most of the smaller stations were closed in 1955 but the line remains in use as part of the Wessex Main Line.
The Stert and Westbury Railway was opened by the Great Western Railway Company in 1900 in Wiltshire, England. It shortened the distance between London Paddington station and Weymouth, and since 1906 has also formed part of the Reading to Taunton line for a shorter journey from London to Penzance.
The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway linked Salisbury (Wiltshire), Gillingham (Dorset) and Yeovil (Somerset) in England. Opened in stages in 1859 and 1860, it formed a bridge route between the main London and South Western Railway (LSWR) network and its lines in Devon and Cornwall. Its trains were operated by the LSWR and it was sold to that company in 1878. Apart from a short section in Yeovil it remains open and carries the London Waterloo to Exeter service of South Western Railway.
The Reading–Taunton line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line from which it diverges at Reading railway station. It runs to Cogload Junction where it joins the Bristol to Exeter and Penzance line.
This station offers access to the South West Coast Path | |
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Distance to path | ¼ mile (500 metres) |
Next station anticlockwise | Swanage 48 miles (77 km) |
Next station clockwise | Exmouth 76 miles (122 km) |