Maesteg Line

Maesteg Line
Overview
Type	Heavy Rail
System	National Rail
Locale	Cardiff Rhondda Cynon Taf Bridgend county borough
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Technical
No. of tracks	Double track (Cardiff Central to Bridgend) Single track (Bridgend to Maesteg)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (Standard gauge)

[v · d · e]Maesteg Line
Legend Llynvi and Ogmore Railway Maesteg Maesteg (Ewenny Road) Garth Llangynwyd Goods line Goods line to Margam Tondu Sarn Wildmill South Wales Main Line Bridgend Vale of Glamorgan Line Pencoed Llanharan Pontyclun Cardiff Central South Wales Main Line

The Maesteg Line is commuter rail line in South Wales from Cardiff to Bridgend and Maesteg. The line follows the South Wales Main Line as far as Bridgend, where it then diverges to continue to Maesteg.

History

The lines over which this service operates are in two sections:

• The South Wales Railway, between Cardiff and Bridgend. The line between Chepstow and Swansea opened on 18 June 1850; it later became the GWR main line.
• From Bridgend, the Llynfi and Ogmore Railway (L&OVR) was formed on 28 June 1866 (itself the amalgamation of earlier lines); a standard gauge line as opposed to the main line. When the L&OVR threatened to build a competing line to the GWR, it forced the latter to change the gauge over its whole line from Didcot. On 1 July 1873 the GWR took over the L&OVR.

The line from Bridgend originally operated beyond Maesteg through Caerau and the Cymmer Tunnel, know locally as the 'Gwdihw', to passenger stations in Cymmer, known as Cymmer General and further to Abergwynfi. The lines also connected colleries in Abergwynfi and Glyncorrwg. Junctions at both Tondu and Cymmer connected with east-west routes across the Llynfi and Afan valleys.

The Maesteg branch was closed in 1970, and the link with the Afan Valley was lost due to the closure of the Cymmer Tunnel.

A long campaign in the late 1980s and early 90s, resulted in the reopening of the line in 1992 as far as Maesteg. The new stations and line were officially opened by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and a plaque was unveiled at Maesteg station.

The railway north of Maesteg continued to exist until 2004, however it was removed as part of the Maesteg Washery reclamation scheme. The track to the north of Llynfi North Junction, including the former Nantyffyllon and Caerau stations, have been part of a major housing developments. Reconnection with Cymmer (Afan Valley) is impossible - the tunnel "mouth" is still visible at the Caerau end, yet sealed off at the Cymmer end, with the "mouth" entrance now a turning circle for the local bus service.

Today the line is operated by Arriva Trains Wales on services from Cheltenham Spa to Maesteg via Cardiff Central and Bridgend, and repeated from Maesteg to Cheltenham Spa.

Places served

The places served by the line are listed below.

• Cardiff Central
• Pontyclun
• Llanharan
• Pencoed
• Bridgend
  • South Wales Main Line continues to Port Talbot and Swansea
  • Connections with Vale of Glamorgan Line to Llantwit Major, Cardiff International Airport, Rhoose and Barry
• Wildmill
• Sarn
• Tondu
• Garth
• Maesteg

The line is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) as part of the Valley Lines network. ATW replaced the previous franchise, Wales & Borders Trains in December 2003.

References

Historical notes are taken from The Railway Magazine July 1955, pp 445-454

This United Kingdom rail transport related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Railway lines in Wales Rail transport in Cardiff Rail transport in Bridgend county borough United Kingdom rail transport stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат? Joseph Reed Chuck Dixon Look at other dictionaries: Maesteg railway station — Maesteg Arriva Trains Wales 150208 stands at Maesteg with a service from Ch …   Wikipedia Maesteg (Ewenny Road) railway station — Maesteg (Ewenny Road) Maesteg Heol Ewenni …   Wikipedia Maesteg — Coordinates: 51°37′N 3°39′W / 51.61°N 3.65°W / 51.61; 3.65 …   Wikipedia Maesteg Ewenny Road railway station — Infobox UK station name=Maesteg Ewenny Road other name=Maesteg Heol Ewenni code=MEW manager=Arriva Trains Wales locale=Maesteg borough=Bridgend platforms=1 start= lowusage0405 = 3,256 lowusage0506 = 3,225 lowusage0607 = 3,502Maesteg Ewenny Road… …   Wikipedia Merthyr Line — Overview Type Heavy Rail System National Rail Locale Cardiff Rhondda Cynon Taff Operation …   Wikipedia Coryton Line — Overview Type Heavy Rail System National Rail Locale Cardiff Operation Owner …   Wikipedia Conwy Valley Line — Overview Type Heavy Rail Locale Conwy Gwynedd …   Wikipedia North Wales Coast Line — Overview Type Heavy Rail System National Rail …   Wikipedia South Wales Main Line — The South Wales Main Line (Welsh: Prif Reilffordd De Cymru ) is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in the UK. It diverges from the main line at Wootton Bassett near Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues… …   Wikipedia Vale of Glamorgan Line — The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a 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 …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”