Llanharan railway station serves the village of

Llanharan Llanharan is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. As a community Llanharan takes in the neighbouring settlements of Bryncae, Brynna, Llanilid, Peterston-super-Montem and Ynysmaerdy. Llanharan thrived during ...

in south

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Funded in part by

SEWTA South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta) was a consortium established by the 10 local authorities in South East Wales to promote and develop transport strategies and projects in the region. Founded on 1 April 2003, Sewta worked in close liaiso ...

and at a cost of £4.3 million, it opened in December 2007. It is from .

History

A former station was on the site until 1964, when it was closed under the

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

. Following local campaigning from residents with backing from the MP and AM. EC funding was secured and a new station was agreed and work began in 2007.

Facilities

The station has two platforms connected by a footbridge and small shelters for passengers. It is unmanned but features CCTV and help points. A car park is next to the station. The approved design features Corus Modular Platforms. The Modular Platform was selected as the majority of the structure can be erected with trains still running. Alternative forms of construction would have required extended blockage of the line (with associated disruption to through services on 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. ...

). The principal contractor for construction was

Galliford Try Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Leicester, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916. Formerly involved in house-buildi ...

Water & Rail, utilising local subcontractors where possible.

Services

The station has an hourly service westbound to and and eastbound towards , with some services continuing on towards , , and . These services are operated mainly by Class 170 ''Turbostar'' units. On Sundays the service decreases slightly. There is roughly a 2-hourly service to however there are also four services a day to via and , the latter of which is usually operated by either Class 158 ''Express Sprinter'' or Class 175 ''Coradia'' units. A few early morning and late evening services take the spur to to continue onto alongside Canton sidings, to retain route knowledge.

References

External links

{{Commuter Stations: Cardiff Local Lines run by Arriva Trains Wales Railway stations in Rhondda Cynon Taf DfT Category F2 stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2007 Reopened railway stations in Great Britain South Wales Main Line Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Beeching closures in Wales