Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes (Welsh: Llwybrau Lleol y Cymoedd a Chaerdydd) (formerly Valley Lines) is the busy network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glamorgan and the South Wales Valleys.[1]
The services are currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales. In total, it serves 81 stations in six unitary authority areas: 20 in the city of Cardiff, 11 in the Vale of Glamorgan, 25 in Rhondda Cynon Taff, 15 in Caerphilly, 8 in Bridgend and 5 in Merthyr Tydfil.[2]
Services on these routes are provided by Class 121, 142, 143 and 150 DMUs, and are typically end-to-end, in that they run from one branch terminus, through Cardiff Queen Street station, to another branch terminus, e.g. from Pontypridd to Barry Island.
The major hubs of the network are Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central. Other hubs are Pontypridd, Bridgend and Barry.[3]
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A stretch of the Vale of Glamorgan Line, on which passenger services were closed under the Beeching Axe, re-opened for passenger service, with services from Cardiff Central to Bridgend, via Barry, Rhoose Cardiff Intl. Airport and Llantwit Major. These services were originally advertised to start in April 2005, but commenced on 12 June 2005.[4][5] Previously services only went as far as Barry.
The colours used below are from the official network map (see External links). Stations in bold are major interchanges for the network.[2]
| Butetown Branch Line | City Line | Coryton Line | Vale of Glamorgan Line |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cardiff Queen St. |
Cardiff Central |
Cardiff Central |
| Merthyr Line | Merthyr Line | Rhondda Line | Rhymney Line |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cardiff Central |
Cardiff Central |
Cardiff Central |
Cardiff Central |
Generally some trains run from one line to another, joining at Cardiff Central eliminating the need for changing trains there. However they may not run for the whole length of the line.[6] Services run between:
The following lines also serve Cardiff and the South Wales Valleys but are not considered part of the network by Arriva Trains Wales.
| █ Maesteg - Cheltenham | █ Ebbw Valley Railway |
|---|---|
|
Cheltenham Spa |
Cardiff Central |
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