Rail station lift plan said to be back on track

TOWN councillors in Dorchester have welcomed news of progress on a lift for Dorchester South Station.

Town councillors in Dorchester have welcomed news of progress on a lift for Dorchester South Station.

But the project could still depend on whether Department of Transport approval is given and funding made available by the Department.

After hearing that Network Rail and South Western Railway are still working on the project, with an update expected in the spring, the news was welcomed by town councillor Molly Rennie, who has campaigned for years for lifts over the line: “It still seems a long way off but it shows they are going to do it… it feels like it’s been hundreds of years, but we are, at last, getting there,” she said.

A letter to the town council from Network Rail and South Western Railway said they hope to be able to update the town council further “in the next month of so.”

Regional development manager Andrew Ardley says that the initial designs for the lift are now almost complete, with two options being considered to get passengers over the twin rail lines – either a full replacement of the bridge with lifts or retaining and refurbishing the existing bridge and adding lifts.

The South Station once had a tunnel underneath the line to get passengers from side to side, before the current bridge was built.

The Regional Manager said that once the best option had been chosen it would be up to the Department of Transport to decide whether or not to proceed to the construction stage, along with six similar projects on the SW network and 23 across the country.

Mr Ardley said the proposals are likely to require some changes to the station forecourt layout with the lifts shafts likely to impact on the bus turning area.

“We may well therefore need to consult the access group on the best future layout hat incorporates a bus stop, pick up/drop off and taxi rank. If we can secure funds we would also look to make parallel improvements to the car park to increase the number of accessible spaces.”

The letter confirms that the town council will be kept in touch throughout the process.