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Tondu railway station is a
It hence had an extensive set of railway workshops, and was also the junction access point for the Tondu Ironworks. Enough traffic flowed through the junction to warrant a sizable locomotive shed. The original Ogmore Valley Railway shed was demolished in 1889 to make way for a roundhouse shed, which later became home to various Great Western Railway allocated tank engines.
The ironworks shut from 1895 onwards, but the previous developments meant that it remained an important junction with the installation of a wagon works for the collieries in the area. After British Railways closed most of the branch lines to passengers in the 1950s and early 1960s and the demise of the Blaengarw and International collieries in the late 1980s, the station and lines were greatly rationalised. The locomotive shed closed in the late-sixties. Tondu station was closed on 22 June 1970 (with the end of passenger trains over the old L&O route to Cymmer Afan) and was reopened on 28 September 1992. British Rail and 
The current passing loop is still controlled by the former Tondu junction signal box, which manually controls the line using semaphore signals. As well as the former Maesteg Line, the former Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company line exists as a freight-only by-pass line to
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 prep ...
serving the village of Tondu
Tondu ( en, Black Meadow) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend, in the community of Ynysawdre.
Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th cent ...
, Bridgend county borough
Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. I ...
, South Wales. It is located on the Maesteg Line
The Maesteg Line is a commuter rail line in South Wales from Bridgend to Maesteg. Services usually operate from Maesteg to via the South Wales Main Line and Gloucester to Newport Line.
Electrification by 2019 was announced in the Departme ...
from Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
via Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...
.
Passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail
Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...
as part of the Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes ( cy, Llwybrau Lleol y Cymoedd a Chaerdydd) (formerly Valley Lines) is the network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glam ...
network for local services.
History
The station was opened by theLlynvi Valley Railway
In 1861 the Llynvi Valley Railway was opened in Glamorganshire, Wales, to convey mineral products to the Bristol Channel at Porthcawl. It adopted an earlier tramroad, the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway. The Llynvi and Ogmore Railway was o ...
on 25 February 1864.
Originally developed as part of the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway
In 1861 the Llynvi Valley Railway was opened in Glamorganshire, Wales, to convey mineral products to the Bristol Channel at Porthcawl. It adopted an earlier tramroad, the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway. The Llynvi and Ogmore Railway was o ...
, it was a junction of six railway lines:
*The Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway from Porthcawl to Maesteg and
*The Maesteg Line
The Maesteg Line is a commuter rail line in South Wales from Bridgend to Maesteg. Services usually operate from Maesteg to via the South Wales Main Line and Gloucester to Newport Line.
Electrification by 2019 was announced in the Departme ...
to Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...
, connecting to 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 Ogmore Valley Railway to Brynmenyn
Brynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school.
Transport
T ...
& Nantymoel
*The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company
The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company (PTR&D) was formed in 1894 to secure the means of bringing minerals, chiefly coal, to the harbour in South Wales. It took over the docks at Port Talbot that had been operated by the Port Talbot Company. I ...
to Port Talbot docks
The port of Port Talbot is located on the River Afan
, name_etymology =
, image = The_Afon_Afan,_Cymmer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001060.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Afan near Cymmer
, map ...
and Pontyrhyl
*The Garw Valley Railway
The Garw Valley Railway is the trading name of the Bridgend Valleys Railway Company Limited. It operates a short section of railway located in South Wales, which is being recreated as a heritage railway. Formerly part of the Llynvi and Ogmore ...
to Blaengarw and onwards to the Blaengarw and International collieries
It hence had an extensive set of railway workshops, and was also the junction access point for the Tondu Ironworks. Enough traffic flowed through the junction to warrant a sizable locomotive shed. The original Ogmore Valley Railway shed was demolished in 1889 to make way for a roundhouse shed, which later became home to various Great Western Railway allocated tank engines.
The ironworks shut from 1895 onwards, but the previous developments meant that it remained an important junction with the installation of a wagon works for the collieries in the area. After British Railways closed most of the branch lines to passengers in the 1950s and early 1960s and the demise of the Blaengarw and International collieries in the late 1980s, the station and lines were greatly rationalised. The locomotive shed closed in the late-sixties. Tondu station was closed on 22 June 1970 (with the end of passenger trains over the old L&O route to Cymmer Afan) and was reopened on 28 September 1992. British Rail and Mid Glamorgan County Council
Mid Glamorgan County Council () was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996.
History
Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Gover ...
reopened the line.
The current passing loop is still controlled by the former Tondu junction signal box, which manually controls the line using semaphore signals. As well as the former Maesteg Line, the former Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company line exists as a freight-only by-pass line to Margam
Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into ...
. Passenger trains would sometimes be diverted through this branch-line whenever the main-line between Bridgend and Port Talbot was closed for engineering work. Trains were diverted to travel via and reverse at Tondu. Nowadays, when the main-line is closed, bus services will replace train services as the old branch has speed restrictions of 5-15 mph in force.
Services
A basic hourly service is in operation, northbound to Maesteg and southbound to and . Most southbound trains continue onwards from Cardiff to , and .References
External links
{{Commuter Stations: Cardiff Local Lines run by Arriva Trains Wales Railway stations in Bridgend County Borough DfT Category F1 stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1970 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1992 Reopened railway stations in Great Britain Railway stations served by Transport for Wales Rail Beeching closures in Wales