Aberdare railway station
Encyclopedia
Aberdare railway station is a railway station serving the town of Aberdare
in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
. It is the terminus
of the Aberdare
branch of the Merthyr Line
, 36 km (22½ miles) north of . Passenger services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales
.
, later Great Western Railway
on their route between and Pontypool Road
. The line from Abercynon and Cardiff had been built in 1846 by the Aberdare Railway Company (later absorbed by the Taff Vale Railway
) - this ran to an adjacent but separate station at Aberdare Low Level, although the two routes were later connected to each other a short distance to the west of the town at Gadlys Junction.
Passenger rail services into the town on both lines fell victim to the Beeching Axe
in 1964, with the last train running on the VoN line on 13 June and the ex-TVR line suffering a similar fate on 30 October. However part of the VoN line west of the town remained open for coal trains serving Tower Colliery
at Hirwaun
, which was then served by the former TVR line from Cardiff. This was also retained to serve various collieries and a coking plant further down the valley towards Abercynon.
Goods traffic through the ex-VoN High Level station ended in 1965 and the line fell into disuse but in August 1973 it was reopened to release the former TVR line trackbed and station site for road improvements (including the removal of an inconveniently-located level crossing
). All services were diverted onto the old VoN line via a new connection between the two lines near Cwmbach
and then on through the old High Level station to regain their former route at Gadlys Junction. The new connection was carried over the River Cynon
on a girder bridge that had been previously been used to carry the defunct to branch line across the A40 road
at Wheatley, Oxfordshire
.
The fact that the line remained open made it possible to reinstate passenger services to the town, which started again in October 1988 using a new platform close to the old disused one. Freight continued to run several times a day from the colliery over track owned by it, until Tower Colliery's final closure on 18 January 2008. EWS still run trains to the Tower washery on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. These depart Aberdare at 7 pm on Wednesdays and 1130 on the Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, these trains are hauled by occasional Class 60s but a high proportion of these services are Class 66
hauled. Freightliner also operate stone trains to Tower but this service varies, these trains are usually hauled by a Class 66 diesel locomotive
.
Announced in November 2009 the Welsh Assembly Government has asked Network Rail to conduct a feasibility study on reopening the line to Hirwaun for passenger services. Network Rail is expected to clear the line of vegatation and assess the track bed before publishing its report in 2010, before any business cases to reopen the line is then developed.
It was announced in March 2011 that the Welsh Assembly Government’s 2011-12 capital programme would include the re-opening of the line to Hirwaun as part of the Cynon Valley Scheme. However, there is currently no information on when the work will commence and when the line will re-open.
Along with other stations on the Merthyr Line, Aberdare has undergone construction work to lengthen the platform
. This now allows four-car
trains to stop at the station. The platform also has a ticket sales box and a telephone. A rail link bus
is available at the station up to Rhigos
. Car parking is provided at the station.
There are also services running to Bridgend via Cardiff Central and the Vale of Glamorgan Line
.
On Sundays there is a 2 hourly service to Barry Island.
There is a dedicated rail linc
bus that links with the train. It is only available to rail passengers and operates to Penywaun
, Hirwaun
, Cefn Rhigos
and Rhigos
.
Aberdare
Aberdare is an industrial town in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Dare and Cynon. The population at the census was 31,705...
in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is the terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
of the Aberdare
Aberdare
Aberdare is an industrial town in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Dare and Cynon. The population at the census was 31,705...
branch of the Merthyr Line
Merthyr Line
The Merthyr Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from central Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare. The line is part of the Cardiff urban rail network, known as the Valley Lines...
, 36 km (22½ miles) north of . Passenger services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
.
Overview
The station at this location (the former Aberdare High Level) was opened in 1851 and was served by the trains of the Vale of NeathVale of Neath Railway
The Vale of Neath Railway was a broad gauge railway line from Neath to Merthyr Tydfil, in Glamorgan, Wales, and also operated the Swansea and Neath Railway which gave it access to the docks at Swansea...
, later Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
on their route between and Pontypool Road
Pontypool and New Inn railway station
Pontypool and New Inn railway station is situated to the south east of Pontypool town centre between the town and the suburb of New Inn.It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is operated by Arriva Trains Wales...
. The line from Abercynon and Cardiff had been built in 1846 by the Aberdare Railway Company (later absorbed by the Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
) - this ran to an adjacent but separate station at Aberdare Low Level, although the two routes were later connected to each other a short distance to the west of the town at Gadlys Junction.
Passenger rail services into the town on both lines fell victim to the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
in 1964, with the last train running on the VoN line on 13 June and the ex-TVR line suffering a similar fate on 30 October. However part of the VoN line west of the town remained open for coal trains serving Tower Colliery
Tower Colliery
Tower Colliery is the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world, and the last mine of its kind to remain in the South Wales Valleys...
at Hirwaun
Hirwaun
Hirwaun is the name of a village at the northwest end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The village of Hirwaun is from the town of Aberdare, and comes under Aberdare for postal reasons...
, which was then served by the former TVR line from Cardiff. This was also retained to serve various collieries and a coking plant further down the valley towards Abercynon.
Goods traffic through the ex-VoN High Level station ended in 1965 and the line fell into disuse but in August 1973 it was reopened to release the former TVR line trackbed and station site for road improvements (including the removal of an inconveniently-located level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
). All services were diverted onto the old VoN line via a new connection between the two lines near Cwmbach
Cwmbach railway station
Cwmbach railway station is a railway station serving the village of Cwmbach in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is located on the Aberdare branch of the Merthyr Line. Passenger services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales....
and then on through the old High Level station to regain their former route at Gadlys Junction. The new connection was carried over the River Cynon
River Cynon
The River Cynon is a river in South Wales and is one of the larger tributaries of the River Taff.It arises within Cwm Cadlan in the Brecon Beacons National Park as the Nant Cadlan and is supplemented by a number of small streams arising from springs in the Carboniferous Limestone and Twrch...
on a girder bridge that had been previously been used to carry the defunct to branch line across the A40 road
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
at Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley, Oxfordshire
Wheatley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford.-Archaeology:There was a Roman villa on Castle Hill, about southeast of the parish church. It was excavated in 1845, when Roman coins dating from AD 260 to 378 and fragments of Roman pottery and Roman tiles were...
.
The fact that the line remained open made it possible to reinstate passenger services to the town, which started again in October 1988 using a new platform close to the old disused one. Freight continued to run several times a day from the colliery over track owned by it, until Tower Colliery's final closure on 18 January 2008. EWS still run trains to the Tower washery on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. These depart Aberdare at 7 pm on Wednesdays and 1130 on the Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, these trains are hauled by occasional Class 60s but a high proportion of these services are Class 66
British Rail Class 66
The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
hauled. Freightliner also operate stone trains to Tower but this service varies, these trains are usually hauled by a Class 66 diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
.
Announced in November 2009 the Welsh Assembly Government has asked Network Rail to conduct a feasibility study on reopening the line to Hirwaun for passenger services. Network Rail is expected to clear the line of vegatation and assess the track bed before publishing its report in 2010, before any business cases to reopen the line is then developed.
It was announced in March 2011 that the Welsh Assembly Government’s 2011-12 capital programme would include the re-opening of the line to Hirwaun as part of the Cynon Valley Scheme. However, there is currently no information on when the work will commence and when the line will re-open.
Along with other stations on the Merthyr Line, Aberdare has undergone construction work to lengthen the platform
Railway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
. This now allows four-car
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
trains to stop at the station. The platform also has a ticket sales box and a telephone. A rail link bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
is available at the station up to Rhigos
Rhigos
Rhigos is a village in the north of the Cynon Valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. For postal purposes it comes under the town of Aberdare, although it is some from Aberdare town centre....
. Car parking is provided at the station.
Services
Monday to Saturdays trains from Aberdare to via Llandaf and depart every half an hour. Other major stations served include , and .There are also services running to Bridgend via Cardiff Central and the Vale of Glamorgan Line
Vale of Glamorgan Line
The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Bridgend via Barry, Rhoose and Llantwit Major. There are also branch lines to Penarth and Barry Island. As its names suggests, the line runs through the Vale of Glamorgan....
.
On Sundays there is a 2 hourly service to Barry Island.
There is a dedicated rail linc
Rail linc
rail linc is a brand name applied to various dedicated rail-feeder buses in the Sewta region of South Wales.Unlike other local bus services, they are for the use of rail passengers only and the vehicles are usually fitted with National Rail ticket machines....
bus that links with the train. It is only available to rail passengers and operates to Penywaun
Penywaun
Penywaun is a village in the Cynon Valley situated between Aberdare and Hirwaun, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.-Background:The population of Penywaun is approximately 3,300....
, Hirwaun
Hirwaun
Hirwaun is the name of a village at the northwest end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The village of Hirwaun is from the town of Aberdare, and comes under Aberdare for postal reasons...
, Cefn Rhigos
Cefn Rhigos
Cefn Rhigos is a hamlet to the west of the village of Rhigos, Wales. Despite being 8 miles from the town centre, for postal purposes it comes under Aberdare....
and Rhigos
Rhigos
Rhigos is a village in the north of the Cynon Valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. For postal purposes it comes under the town of Aberdare, although it is some from Aberdare town centre....
.