Bournemouth West railway station

Bournemouth West was a railway station in Bournemouth, Dorset, England which closed in 1965.

Bournemouth West
The station approach in 1963
General information
Location	Bournemouth, Dorset England
Grid reference	SZ076914
Platforms	6
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	LSWR
Post-grouping	SR
Key dates
15 June 1874	Opened
6 September 1965	Closed to passengers
4 October 1965[1]	Closed completely

History

View eastward, to buffer-stops; the terminus of ex-LSWR main line from London in 1963

The station opened on 15 June 1874. It was the southern terminus for many services off the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, as well as being the terminus for trains from London Waterloo and local services.

The station was closed during the electrification of the London Waterloo to Bournemouth line. Originally, the closure was meant to be temporary, pending completion of the project, as it was thought that Bournemouth Central did not have the capacity to handle all of Bournemouth's trains. Experience during the temporary closure showed that the newly electrified Central station could handle all the trains in the town, so the closure became permanent.

Passenger trains were withdrawn from 6 September 1965. A substitute bus service was provided until its official closure on 4 October 1965; the station was later demolished.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway Dorset Central Railway		Branksome Line closed, station open
		London and South Western Railway Southampton and Dorchester Railway		Meyrick Park Halt Line and station closed

Accidents and incidents

On 17 August 1956 a rake of carriages ran away colliding with another rake of carriages and a parcels van. The van was pushed into the parcels office bringing down its roof crushing two cars.^[2]

The site today

The former station site is now occupied by a car park and the A338 Wessex Way. Bournemouth Traincare Depot occupies the approach to the station.