Rhondda Line

Rhondda Line

A pair of Arriva Trains Wales Class 142s at Treforest, with a Class 150 on the opposite line in the background.
Overview
Type Heavy Rail
System National Rail
Locale Cardiff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Termini Cardiff
51°28′34″N 3°10′44″W / 51.4760°N 3.1790°W / 51.4760; -3.1790 (Cardiff Central station)
Treherbert
51°40′20″N 3°32′10″W / 51.6722°N 3.5361°W / 51.6722; -3.5361 (Treherbert station)
Operation
Owner Network Rail
Technical
Number of tracks Single track - Treherbert to Porth with a passing loop at Ystrad
Double track - Porth to Cardiff
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Rhondda Line

Legend
Rhondda and
Swansea Bay Railway
Treherbert
 Ynyswen
 Treorchy
 Ton Pentre
 Ystrad Rhondda
 Llwynypia
 Tonypandy
 Dinas Rhondda
 Porth
 Trehafod
Merthyr Line and
Aberdare Line
 Pontypridd
 Treforest
Treforest Estate
(closed Sundays)
 Taffs Well
 Radyr
City Line
 Llandaf
 Cathays
Coryton Line and
Rhymney Line
 Cardiff Queen Street
Butetown Branch Line
 Cardiff Central
South Wales Main Line
 Vale of Glamorgan Line

The Rhondda Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Treherbert. The line follows the Merthyr Line as far as Pontypridd, where it then diverges to continue along the Rhondda Valley.

The places served by the line are listed below:

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

The first section of the line, as far as Pontypridd, is historically part of the Taff Vale Railway, from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil. At Pontypridd the Rhondda branch diverges and follows the course of the Rhondda Valley. It was single-tracked beyond Porth in the early 1980s, just prior to the commencement of the revival of the Valley Lines network. By 1986 a passing loop was constructed at Ystrad Rhondda station (itself newly built, with the original station of that name renamed Ton Pentre), to enable a half-hourly service to be introduced. Another new station was opened at Ynyswen on the same day.

In March 2007 it was announced that platforms on the branch are to be lengthened to enable 6 car trains to run, together with leasing of an additional eight Class 150s for the whole network. This has been completed.

Electrification of the line

On 16 July 2012 plans to electrify the line were announced by the Government as part of a £9.4bn package of investment of the railways in England and Wales.[1]

The announcement was made as an extension of the electrification of the South Wales Main Line from Cardiff to Swansea and the electrification of the south Wales Valley Lines at a total cost of £350 million. The investment will require new trains and should result in reduced journeys times and a cheaper to maintain network. It is thought to start between 2014 and 2019.[2]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhondda Line.
  1. ↑ Richard Westcott (2012-07-16). "BBC News - £9bn railway investment announced by coalition". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  2. ↑ "BBC News - Rail electrification to Swansea and south Wales valleys welcomed". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2015-03-04.

Coordinates: 51°36′03″N 3°20′37″W / 51.6009°N 3.3437°W / 51.6009; -3.3437

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.