Merthyr Line

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Merthyr Line

Principal stations                 Cardiff Central   Cardiff Queen Street   Cathays   Llandaf   Radyr   Taffs Well   Trefforest Estate   Trefforest   Pontypridd Abercynon North    Abercynon South Penrhiwceiber Quakers Yard Mountain Ash Merthyr Vale Fernhill Troed-y-rhiw Cwmbach Pentre-bach Aberdare Merthyr Tydfil

The Merthyr Line is a railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare. It is historically the Taff Vale Railway, the first rail development in the Valleys in the 1840s and associated with the notorious Taff Vale Judgment in 1901 when the courts penalised trade unions for losses caused by strikes.

The line follows the Rhondda Line as far as Pontypridd, serving Cathays, Llandaf, Radyr, Taff's Well, Trefforest and Pontypridd. It then divides at Abercynon with separate branches to Merthyr and Aberdare up diverging valleys.

The Merthyr branch serves Merthyr Vale, Troed-y-rhiw, Pentre-bach and Merthyr Tydfil. The Welsh Assembly Government announced in 2006 that it is grant funding, in conjunction with European Union Objective 1 assistance, a scheme to upgrade the line north of Abercynon, including a passing loop, to enable the introduction of a half hourly train service (currently hourly), the revenue costs of which the Welsh Assembly Government will also meet.

The Aberdare branch serves Penrhiwceiber, Mountain Ash, Fernhill, Cwmbach and Aberdare. The line continues beyond Aberdare - for good purposes only - to serve Tower Colliery, the last deep coal mine to remain open in South Wales. Mountain Ash station was redeveloped with a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government in the early part of the decade, the scheme including the provision of a new station and a passing loop to permit an upgrade of the passenger service to two trains per hour from late 2003. There are a few gaps in the half-hourly service to enable coal/stone trains to run to/from Tower Colliery/Hirwaun. In 2005, following further grant from the Welsh Assembly Government, the stations at Abercynon, Penrhiwceiber, Fernhill, Cwmbach and Aberdare were extended to four-car length to accommodate longer peak trains in an initiative to relieve overcrowding, train leasing/running costs also funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

There has been continuing rumour that the line will be reopened for passenger use beyond Aberdare and track relaid to link up with the old Vale of Neath line. This would allow stations - which were closed as part of the Beeching reforms - to be reopened at Llwydcoed, Pen-Y-Waun, Hirwaun, Hirwaun Industrial Estate/Tower Colliery and Rhigos, with the line continuing into Glyn Neath and eventually down into Swansea. There has been no confirmation yet however as to if and when such work on these lines will commence.

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.

edit Railway lines in Wales:
Main lines:	Gloucester-Newport Line   North Wales Coast Line   South Wales Main Line   Welsh Marches Line
Valley lines:		Butetown Branch		City Line		Coryton Line		Ebbw Valley Line		Maesteg Line
		Merthyr Line		Rhondda Line		Rhymney Line		Vale of Glamorgan Line
Rural lines:	Borderlands Line   Cambrian Line   Conwy Valley Line   Heart of Wales Line    Shrewsbury-Chester Line   West Wales Line