Bournemouth to Dorchester South Line Renewals
Our engineers worked from Saturday 15 to Friday 21 November 2025 carrying out a series of renewal works along the line.
What work took place, and how did we do it sustainably?
Travelling by train is one of the most sustainable ways to get around, and we’re making the way we look after the railway greener too. That’s why, when we closed the line between Bournemouth and Dorchester South, we did everything we could to reduce our impact on the environment.
During this closure we carried out a series of works including:
- Strengthening a railway embankment in Hamworthy
- Improving the drainage at our railway sidings in Poole
- Renewing wheeltimbers over the bridge on the River Frome
- Renewing the footbridge at Wool station
- Re-railing in Morton
- Renewing track, ballast and sleeper through Wareham
To make sure we kept our works as sustainable as possible, we did the following:
- At Wool, the crane we used to lift the footbridge out used Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil as fuel
- For our wheeltimber renewal on the River Frome, we used artificial wheeltimbers, which reduced the need for tree-felling to provide materials
- To avoid pollution to the waterway, we carried out all adjustments to the wheeltimbers (cutting and re-shaping) away from the river, avoiding contamination
- For our re-railing work through Morton, 45 tons of old rail and 6 tons of fastenings were recycled instead of going to a scrap yard
- At all of our site compounds we used solar panels to help increase our use of renewal energy where possible
We also worked with ecologists through all our worksites to help protect the wildlife and habitats in the area.
To find out more about sustainability on the railway, visit: Sustainability – Network Rail
Why was the work needed?
We completed this work to ensure the safe running of the railway into the future, improving its overall resilience.
I have a question about the project – how can I get in touch?
For more information or to get in touch with us, please contact us by visiting our contact us page or by calling our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41.