Aberdare railway station 2.87

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, 22½ miles north of. Passenger services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales.OverviewThe station at this location was opened in 1851 and was served by the trains of the Vale of Neath, 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 - this ran to an adjacent but separate station at, 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 former VoN line on 13 June and over the ex-TVR line from Cardiff 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 accessed by the former Taff Vale line. This was also retained to serve various collieries and a coking plant further down the valley at Abercwmboi. From 1968 though, this route was reduced to single track to reduce maintenance costs.