, symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Neath railway station main entrance (geograph 6359557).jpg , borough = Neath,

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf ...

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Grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...

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Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...

, platforms = 2 , code = NTH , classification = DfT category D , mpassengers = , footnotes = Passenger statistics from the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

Neath railway station is a main line railway station serving the town of Neath, south Wales. Managed by

, the station is located at street level on Windsor Road, situated back from the street fronting a small car park. It is from

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

(via Stroud).

History

The surviving Neath railway station is one of four railway stations originally in Neath, and to distinguish it from the others was at one time named ''Neath General'', the suffix being applied before Nationalisation. ''Neath Canalside'' served the

Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was a Welsh railway company formed to connect the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr with Swansea, with the chief objective of transporting coal and other minerals to Swansea docks. It was incorporated in 1882, but ...

services until they ended in 1963. ''Neath Riverside'' (also at times known as ''Neath Bridge Street'' and ''Neath Low Level''), served trains to and from

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

via the

Neath and Brecon Railway The Dulas Valley Mineral Railway was incorporated in 1862 to bring coal from the Onllwyn area north-east of Neath to the quays there, and in the following year was reconstituted as the Neath and Brecon Railway. The line was opened as far as Onllw ...

, with an additional stop at Neath Abbey. The railway itself remains partly in use, linking

Onllwyn Onllwyn () is a small village and community in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, near Seven Sisters. History First developed by the Romans, the local village Banwen is confined to the Roman Road of Sarn Helen. There are two Roman forts and the remai ...

and the docks. The remains of the Neath Bridge Street station can be seen by looking down at the railway alongside the river bridge just before Neath railway station in the Swansea direction. Neath General also acted as the western passenger terminus of the

Vale of Neath Railway The Vale of Neath Railway (VoNR) was a broad gauge railway company, that built a line from Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare to Neath, in Wales, chiefly to transport the products of the Merthyr iron industries to ports on Swansea Bay. The railway focus ...

for most of its life - trains running from here to Pontypool Road via and via a connecting curve at the west end of the station. These ceased in June 1964 (when the line fell victim to the Beeching Axe) and the link line was lifted, though parts of the old VoNR remains intact (but disused) as far as

Resolven Resolven ( cy, Resolfen) is a small village and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is located in the Vale of Neath. Location The village is situated in the Vale of Neath, north east of the town of Neath, next to the A465 ...

and from Aberdare to Hirwaun. The present station buildings date from 1974, when the old GWR structures dating from 1886/87 were demolished and rebuilt in contemporary style by British Rail.

Facilities

Neath (General) railway station (geograph 4060668)

The station has 2 platforms both accessed through ticket barriers: *Platform 1, for westbound trains towards Swansea,

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

and Milford Haven. *Platform 2, for eastbound trains towards Cardiff Central,

and Manchester Piccadilly The station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open all week. A ticket machine is also provided for use and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Other amenities provided in the main building on platform 2 include a buffet, waiting room, pay phone and toilets. A waiting room is available on platform 1 and both platforms have CIS displays, automated announcements and timetable poster boards. Step-free access is available to the eastbound platform at all times and to the opposite side via a foot crossing when the station is staffed. However a public lift is provided on an overlooking footbridge. Both platforms are considered short, with neither platform being able to fully contain a GWR train.

Services

The station is served by Great Western Railway services between

and Swansea. The trains run hourly each way with peak extras and

regional trains between / and Manchester Piccadilly via Cardiff, and (also hourly), plus the two-hourly Swansea to Cardiff stopping trains.GB eNRT 2016-17 Edition, Tables 125 & 128 On Sundays the London - Swansea service runs hourly and the Milford Haven/Carmarthen - Manchester trains run every two hours.

References

External links

{{Transport in Neath Port Talbot Railway stations in Neath Port Talbot DfT Category D stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1877 South Wales Main Line Railway stations served by Great Western Railway Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Neath