Ely Main Line railway station served the suburb of

Ely, Cardiff Ely ( cy, Trelái ''tref'', town + cy, Afon Elái, River Ely) is a district and community in Cardiff, Wales. It is to the north of Cowbridge Road West. Caerau defines the boundary to the south as does River Ely to the east and in part to the no ...

until the 1960s.

History and description

The station opened with the opening of the

South Wales Railway The South Wales Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd De Cymru) was a main line railway which opened in stages from 1850, connecting the Great Western Railway from Gloucester to South Wales. It was constructed on the broad gauge. An original aspiration was to ...

to serve what was then a growing suburb. In the early 20th Century, over 400,000 tickets were issued each year (due in part to close proximity to the

Ely Racecourse Ely Racecourse was a horse racing venue in the Ely district of Cardiff, Wales. The racecourse opened in 1855, with the first race being held on 30 May. By 1864 racing at Ely was a regular event, the races that year were acclaimed as 'the most br ...

), and the station also handled high volumes of freight from the Ely Paper Mills and Creswell's Brewery. After the 1923 grouping of railway companies, the suffix 'Main Line' was added (the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 mill ...

added suffixes to many stations in South Wales at around this time to ease confusion). Despite its earlier popularity, the station's profits slumped in the postwar years. After April 1959, only four trains per day (two in each direction) called at Ely Main Line, and the weekend services were withdrawn. The station closed in 1962 (before the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

) when British Railways discontinued passenger services between Cardiff Clarence Road and via on economic grounds. At least two different dates for passenger closure have appeared in print: 10 April 1962, and September 1962.Horton, P. ''The Beeching Legacy''. Silver Link.2013. p.85 Freight closure followed in 1963, and the sidings nearby went out of use in 1964.

References

{{reflist Disused railway stations in Cardiff Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1852 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1962 1852 establishments in Wales 1963 disestablishments in Wales