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The Maesteg Line is a commuter rail line in South Wales from
Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...
to
Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community (Wales), community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English ...
. Services usually operate from Maesteg to via the
South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...
and
Gloucester to Newport Line Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...
. Electrification by 2019 was announced in the Department for Transport's High Level Output Specification of 2012.Department for Transport's High Level Output Specification 2012
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History

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. 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'', known locally as the 'Gwdihw', to passenger stations in Cymmer, known as Cymmer General and further to Abergwynfi. The lines also connected collieries in Abergwynfi and
Glyncorrwg Glyncorrwg is a village in the Afan Valley, in southern Wales. Glyncorrwg is also the name of an electoral ward and formerly a community covering the village and surrounding countryside, in Neath Port Talbot county borough. Glyncorrwg community c ...
. Junctions at both
Tondu Tondu ( en, Black Meadow) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend, in the community of Ynysawdre. Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th cent ...
and Cymmer connected with east–west routes across the Llynfi and Afan valleys. The Maesteg branch was closed to passenger trains in 1970 (though it remained in use for coal traffic until 1988), 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 by British Rail and
Mid Glamorgan County Council Mid Glamorgan County Council () was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Gover ...
. The new stations and line were officially opened by
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as wel ...
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 financially unviable to reinstate;– the tunnel portal is still visible at the Caerau end but it is completely buried at the Cymmer end. Today the line is operated by
Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...
on services from
Cheltenham Spa Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
to Maesteg via Cardiff Central and Bridgend, and repeated from Maesteg to Cheltenham Spa, as part of the
Valley Lines Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes ( cy, Llwybrau Lleol y Cymoedd a Chaerdydd) (formerly Valley Lines) is the network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glam ...
network. TfW Rail replaced the previous franchises, Arriva Trains Wales who ran the service December 2003-October 2018 and
Wales & Borders Wales and Borders was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wales & Borders franchise from October 2001 until December 2003. History In October 1996, the Valley Lines franchise commenced oper ...
in December 2003.


References

* Historical notes are taken from ''The Railway Magazine'' July 1955, pp 445–454


External links

* {{Transport in Rhondda Cynon Taff Railway lines in Wales Rail transport in Bridgend County Borough