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| General information | |||||
| Location | Aberdare,Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°42′52″N3°26′31″W / 51.7145°N 3.4420°W /51.7145; -3.4420 | ||||
| Grid reference | SO004027 | ||||
| Managed by | Transport for Wales | ||||
| Platforms | 2[1] | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | ABA | ||||
| Classification | DfT category E | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 3 October 1988 | Station opens | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  53,668 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.177 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.227 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.239 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.341 million | ||||
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Aberdare railway station (Welsh:Aberdâr) serves the town ofAberdare inRhondda Cynon Taf,Wales. It is theterminus of the Aberdare branch of theMerthyr Line, 22½ miles (36 km) north-north-west ofCardiff Central. Passenger services are provided byTransport for Wales.
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The station at this location (the formerAberdare High Level) was opened in 1851 and was served by the trains of theVale of Neath (VoN); it was served later byGreat Western Railway on their route betweenNeath andPontypool Road. The line fromAbercynon and Cardiff had been built in 1846 by theAberdare Railway Company (later absorbed by theTaff Vale Railway) - this ran to an adjacent but separate station atAberdare Low Level, although the two routes were later connected to each other a short distance to the west of the town atGadlys Junction.
Passenger rail services into the town on both lines fell victim to theBeeching Axe in 1964, with the last train running on the former VoN line on 13 June.[2] and over the ex-TVR line from Cardiff on 30 October[3] However part of the VoN line west of the town remained open for coal trains servingTower Colliery atHirwaun, 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 atAbercwmboi; from 1968 though, this route was reduced to single track to reduce maintenance costs.
Goods traffic through the ex-VoN High Level station ended in 1965 and the line fell into disuse. In August 1973, it was reopened to release the former TVR line trackbed and station site for road improvements (including the removal of an inconveniently-locatedlevel crossing; the town'sbus station now occupies the site. All services were diverted onto the old VoN line via a new connection between the two lines nearCwmbach and then on through the old High Level station to regain their former route at Gadlys Junction. The new connection was carried over theRiver Cynon on a girder bridge that had previously been used to carry the defunctPrinces Risborough toOxford branch line across theA40 road atWheatley, Oxfordshire.[4]
The fact that the line remained open made it possible to reinstate passenger services to the town, which started again underBritish Rail andMid Glamorgan in October 1988 using a new platform close to the old disused one (the old High Level station building still survives and can be seen from the current station). Freight continued to run several times a day from the colliery over track owned by it, until Tower Colliery's final closure on 18 January 2008.English, Welsh & Scottish Railway still ran trains to the Tower washery on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for some time afterwards to clear coal stocks from the site; these departed Aberdare at 7:00 pm on Wednesdays and 11:30 am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.Freightliner also operate stone trains to Tower, but this service varies.
Announced in November 2009, theWelsh Assembly Government askedNetwork Rail to conduct a feasibility study on reopening the line to Hirwaun for passenger services. Network Rail is expected to clear the line of vegetation and assess the track bed before publishing its report in 2010, before any business cases to reopen the line is then developed.[5]
It was announced in March 2011 that the Welsh Assembly Government's 2011-12 capital programme would include the reopening of the line to Hirwaun as part of the Cynon Valley Scheme;[6] however, the project appears to have advanced little at that time. In 2019–2020,Cardiff Capital RegionCity Deal's Transport Authority secured £100,000 of funding from the Welsh Government's Local Transport Fund to undertake Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance (WelTAG) 1 study into the feasibility of extending Aberdare Line passenger services through reopenedTrecynon Halt andHirwaun stations to a new terminus serving theTower strategic development site.[7]
Plans authorised in 2024, to add a second platform as part of theSouth Wales Metro project, were completed and opened on May 18th 2025 for arrivals, with departures continuing from platform 1.[8]
Along with other stations on the Merthyr Line, Aberdare has undergone construction work to lengthen theplatform. This now allows four-cartrains to stop at the station. The platform also has a staffed ticket counter, which is open six days per week from early morning until mid-afternoon. Train running information is offered via CIS displays, a help point and timetable posters. Car parking is provided at the station.[9]
The high level station building is being restored to become a bistro cafe for students, staff and the public, as part of the newColeg y Cymoedd campus.[10]
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 504,622 | 53,668 | 177350 | 226,714 |
On Mondays to Saturday daytimes, the service from Aberdare is a half-hourly toMerthyr Tydfil, viaCardiff Central. In the evenings, this drops to hourly. On Sundays, there is an hourly service to Cardiff Central.[12] Services are formed ofClass 150Sprinter units.
The improved service was due to a campaign by the localAssembly Member and a successful trial in December 2017. The extra services began in April 2018.[13]
There was a dedicatedrail linc bus that linksedwith the railway service. It was only available to rail passengers and operated toPenywaun,Hirwaun,Cefn Rhigos andRhigos. The rail link bus no longer operates, but tickets are valid for use onStagecoach South Wales routes that serve the aforementioned communities.[14] Plans are being developed to reintroduce passenger rail services to Trecynon and Hirwaun.[15]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cwmbach | Transport for Wales Aberdare Branch | Terminus | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Cwmbach Line and station open | Great Western Railway Vale of Neath Railway | Trecynon Halt Line and station closed | ||
Transport inRhondda Cynon Taf | ||
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| Roads |  | |
| Bus | ||
| Cycling | ||
| Railway lines | ||
| Railway stations | ||
