, symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Through Merthyr Vale railway station (geograph 4204306).jpg , borough =

Merthyr Vale Merthyr Vale ( cy, Ynysowen or ''Ynyswen'') is a linear village and community in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff. The community includes the villages of Aberfan on the ...

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

, country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name =

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 = MEV , classification = DfT category F2 , years = 1 June 1883 , events = Opened , 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 ...

, mapframe=yes , mapframe-zoom = 13 Merthyr Vale railway station is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving the villages of

and Aberfan in

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 ...

. It is located on the Merthyr branch of the Merthyr Line. Passenger services are provided by

History

Since 2008 the station has had a passing loop installed. This allowed a half-hourly service to be introduced on the branch from the May 2009 timetable change. Previously (up until 1991) a loop had existed at Black Lion Crossing, a short distance to the south, which also controlled the siding connections into Merthyr Vale Colliery. The station was first opened by the

Taff Vale Railway The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stag ...

in 1883. It is briefly shown in

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though he ...

's 1971 film '' 10 Rillington Place'', starring

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...

and

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

. When

Timothy Evans Timothy John Evans (20 November 1924 – 9 March 1950) was a Welshman who was wrongly accused of murdering his wife (Beryl) and infant daughter (Geraldine) at their residence in Notting Hill, London. In January 1950, Evans was tried, and was c ...

(Hurt) returns to Wales, he is seen walking from the station.

Services

As noted, the station has a basic half-hourly service in each direction (Mon-Sat), northbound to and southbound to , , and . Trains then continue alternately to and via the

Vale of Glamorgan Line The Vale of Glamorgan Line ( cy, Llinell Bro Morgannwg) is a commuter railway line in Wales, running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend, via Rhoose and Llantwit Major. Route The Barry branch starts at Cardiff West and ru ...

. On Sunday, there is a two-hourly service each way to Merthyr & Bridgend.GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 130 (Network Rail)

References

External links

Photo of the station & passing loop in 2012 (Geograph.org)
{{Cardiff, Newport and the Valleys railway stations Railway stations in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough DfT Category F2 stations Former Taff Vale Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1883 Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail