Dorset rail

County advice overview

There are several rail providers operating within Dorset, all of which provide a Passenger Assist service to support passengers with a disability to travel safely. 

The main national operators in the county are South West Railway, Great Western Railway and Cross Country Trains, whilst local travel between Corfe and Swanage is possible via the Heritage line.

Key tips

When planning a journey by rail, you may wish to consider:

• Which train operator(s) you will be travelling with and whether they have any specific guidance for travelling with mobility equipment on their trains.
• Booking outside of peak times if possible as this may improve your comfort if the train and platform is less crowded.
• If you require passenger assistance.
• Using a travel card to reduce travel costs (if eligible).
• How you will travel to your onward destination after your rail journey. For example, will you need to book an accessible taxi or catch a bus?
• If the train stations and platforms are accessible. You can find out about accessibility at stations on the National Rail website. Just type the name of your station (or 3 letter code if you know it).
• If your journey involves making one or more changes, it is sometimes cheaper to buy multiple tickets for each leg of the journey rather than one ticket between just the station of departure and final destination.

Local Operators

Swanage Railway

www.swanagerailway.co.uk

Contact: 01929 425800

The Swanage Railway welcomes disabled people on its Heritage steam and diesel services. All station platforms offer step-free access and disabled access is available to most trains. However, some mobility scooters cannot be carried.

Wheelchairs are able to be carried in the Guard’s Van on most services. If the passenger has some mobility, they can sit in nearby passenger accommodation. Trains have corridor connections between the coaches; however, the dining train is not wheelchair accessible.

The maximum dimensions of any wheelchair or electronic scooter 1200mm length, 700mm width, and a maximum combined weight of user and scooter of 300kg.

A ramp is available at all stations to provide wheelchair access to trains, and platform staff and train crews will be happy to assist. The ramps have a safe weight limit of 300kg.

National Operators

South Western Railway

www.southwesternrailway.com

There are two direct routes from London Waterloo station to Dorset operated by South Western Railway. The first train service operates twice hourly between London Waterloo and Weymouth, stopping at Dorset stations including Christchurch, Bournemouth, Poole, Wareham and Dorchester South. 

The second service operates hourly from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids, stopping at Dorset stations Sherborne and Gillingham. A frequent bus service at Axminster Station travel to Lyme Regis.

Great Western Railway 

www.gwr.com

GWR run train services across south west England and also connect with London and Oxford.

Their Heart of Wessex Line brings passengers from Bristol to Dorset via Trowbridge, Westbury, Castle Cary, Yeovil and other towns, arriving in Dorset at Dorchester West and Weymouth stations.  

CrossCountry 

www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk

If you are travelling from the north, Cross Country connect Manchester to Bournemouth via Stoke-On-Trent, Birmingham, Coventry, Oxford, Reading, Southampton and many more towns.

Help with cost

Senior Railcard

A Senior Railcard is available to people over 60 and costs £30 for a year or £70 for three years. It gives a discount of 1/3 off rail journeys.

The Disabled Person’s Railcard

The Disabled Person’s Railcard costs £20 for a year and £54 for three years. It will entitle you to a saving of 1/3 off rail journeys.

You are eligible for the Disabled Person’s Railcard if you:

• receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
• receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at either:

the higher or lower rate for the mobility component, orthe higher or middle rate for the care component

• have a visual impairment
• have a hearing impairment
• have epilepsy
• receive Attendance Allowance or Severe Disablement Allowance
• receive War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement
• receive War or Service Disablement Pension for 80% or more disability
• buy or lease a vehicle through the Motability scheme

Special assistance

If you are planning on travelling on National Rail services, you can request an assistance booking in advance – now up to 2 hours before your journey is due to start, any time of the day. 

Passenger Assist is a national system used by all train companies, which allows them to make the necessary arrangements for your journey.

How it works

If you have a disability, non-visible disability, or are elderly, you can pre-book journey assistance to make sure you get all the help you need for your journey, including changes, and connections that involve other train companies.

You can also “turn up and go” without booking assistance in advance. If you require assistance at short notice, make yourself known to a member of staff or use a Help Point when you arrive at the station.

You can request assistance either via the train company you are travelling with or nationally through National Rail.

Book Passenger Assistance via National Rail

Plan Assistance
Telephone: 0800 030 9224 
Lines are open 24 hours a day.

Book Passenger Assistance via individual train companies

South Western Railway

Assisted Travel
Telephone: 0800 528 2100 

CrossCountry

Passenger Assistance
Telephone: 0800 030 9224

Great Western Railway

Passenger Assist
Telephone 0800 197 1329

Travelling with a mobility equipment

All train operators in Dorset can carry manual or powered wheelchairs up to a maximum size of 700mm wide by 1200mm long and not exceeding a weight of 300kg including the passenger.

As there are a limited number of spaces available to wheelchair users on each train, it is important that you book your space in advance.

However, the rules for scooters are different for each operator as below:

CrossCountry 

Can carry scooters up to a maximum size of 700mm wide by 1200mm long and not exceeding a weight of 300kg (including the passenger). 

However, when travelling with a mobility scooter, this must be folded and stowed in the luggage compartment.

Great Western Railway

Will allow you to travel with your scooter up to a maximum size of 700mm wide by 1200mm long and not exceeding a weight of 300kg (including the passenger) with a permit. 

For guidance and to apply for a permit, there is a downloadable PDF on the Great Western Railway website or you can call 0800 197 1329.

If you are not eligible for a permit, you can still travel with your scooter but it must be folded and stowed in the luggage rack.

South Western Trains

Will allow you to travel with your scooter up to a maximum size of 700mm wide by 1200mm long and not exceeding a weight of 300kg (including the passenger) with a permit.

You will need to complete a Scooter Card Application form, via the website link below, and should allow 7 to 10 working days for the application to be processed. 

Alternatively, contact their Assisted Travel team on 0800 528 2100.

If you are making a connection to an onward service with another operator, remember to check if you will need a permit for the connecting train.

Routes and timetable links

You can check train times, ticket prices and routes at a number of different websites, such as:

National Rail

For train times and tickets.

The Trainline

In addition to finding train timetables and buying your ticket, the Trainline will give you information on live train times, including real-time journey and platform information with live train tracking. You can also check which trains are faster, and which stations they are stopping at.

Traveline

You can plan local or long-distance journeys by bus, coach or train and check timetables with Traveline.

Traveline is a public transport information and journey planning service and is a partnership of transport companies, local authorities and passenger groups which have come together to bring you routes and times for all travel in Great Britain by bus, rail, coach and ferry and to provide it in as many different ways as possible.

You can use Traveline to plan your journey and find timetables, before you travel or during your journey. Contact: 0871 200 22 33