Taffs Well railway station

Coordinates: 51°32′27″N 3°15′49″W / 51.5409°N 3.2635°W

Taffs Well
Welsh: Ffynnon Taf
Location
Place	Taff's Well
Local authority	Rhondda Cynon Taf
Grid reference	ST124832
Operations
Station code	TAF
Managed by	Arriva Trains Wales
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	0.240 million
2005/06	0.243 million
2006/07	0.266 million
2007/08	0.290 million
2008/09	0.281 million
2009/10	0.301 million
2010/11	0.309 million
2011/12	0.312 million
2012/13	0.314 million
2013/14	0.324 million
2014/15	0.338 million
History
Key dates	Opened 9 October 1840
22 June 1863	relocated and named as Walnut Tree Junction
1 June 1886	renamed Walnut Tree Bridge
16 March 1900	renamed Taffs Well
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Taffs Well from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Taffs Well railway station is a railway station serving the village of Taff's Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, as well as neighbouring Gwaelod-y-Garth, Cardiff. It is located on the Merthyr Line and the Rhondda Line. Passenger services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales.

The station was first opened on this site by the Taff Vale Railway in 1863.^[1]

Junctions

Two routes formerly diverged from the TVR's main line between Cardiff & Merthyr here - the Rhymney Railway's original main line northwards to Bargoed and Rhymney via Aber Junction (opened in 1858) and a much more recent spur to Nantgarw Colliery opened by British Railways in 1952 to permit the closure of most of the surviving Cardiff Railway route beyond Coryton. The Rhymney line, which diverged at Walnut Tree Junction just south of the station^[2] was known locally as the Big Hill, due to its severe gradients (as steep as 1 in 48) for northbound trains. Increasing congestion on the 'main line' south of here led to the Rhymney company opening its own direct line via Caerphilly in 1871, but after the 1923 Grouping the Great Western Railway (and later BR) made extensive use of the line for its coal trains from the many collieries in the Rhymney Valley to the marshalling yards at Radyr. Both this line and the Nantgarw colliery spur are now closed and lifted - the last train down the Big Hill ran in June 1982,^[3] whilst the latter branch was finally taken out of use in 1991 after the demise of the colliery and nearby coking works some five years earlier.

Services

During Monday-Saturday daytimes, there are usually six trains an hour from Cardiff Central to Pontypridd and thence to one of Treherbert, Merthyr Tydfil or Aberdare (half-hourly to each). There are six trains an hour to Cardiff Central with some trains continuing beyond Cardiff to Barry Island (3 per hour) and Bridgend via Barry (hourly). Connections for the City line can be made at Radyr, for Cardiff Bay & Coryton at Queen Street and at Central for Penarth.^[4]

A reduced service operates in the evenings (3 trains per hour each way) and on Sundays.

References

1. Hutton, John (2006). The Taff Vale Railway, vol. 1. Silver Link. ISBN 978-1-85794-249-1.
2. Signals at Walnut Tree Junction www.roscalen.com; Retrieved 2013-09-12
3. Body, G (1983). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Western Region. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 0-85059-546-0.
4. GB eNRT December 2015 Edition, Table 130 (Network Rail)

External links

• Train times and station information for Taffs Well railway station from National Rail