Abertillery railway station was a station which served Abertillery, in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire.[1]
Abertillery | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| General information | |
| Location | Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent Wales |
| Grid reference | SO215041 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 21 December 1850 | Opened |
| c. 1893/4 | Resited 185 metres (202 yd) due north |
| 30 April 1962 | Closed to passengers |
| 7 April 1969 | Closed to goods traffic |
History edit
Among the lines built by the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company from Newport into the valleys was a 6-mile (9.7-kilometre) branch from Aberbeeg to Nantyglo, which was first opened as a tramroad in 1824 branching from the Llanhiledd Tramroad between Crumlin and Beaufort.[2] The first timetabled passenger service began on 21 December 1850 from Newport Courtybella to Blaina via Abertillery.[3] The line was converted to a railway in 1855 together with other Monmouth tramroads in the area.[4] It became part of the Great Western Railway in 1880[5] and remained there at the Grouping of 1923.[6]
The first Abertillery station was replaced by a second situated 185 metres (202 yd) north in c. 1893/4.[7][8] Solidly-built stone buildings were provided on the Up platform.[4] The platforms were constructed of timber in order to reduce the weight on the made-up land on the valley side.[9] Just to the south of the station was Abertillery Junction where a short mineral branch less than a mile long diverged to serve Cwmtillery Colliery from 1858 to 1963.[10][4] The station had 59 employees in 1929 and 48 in 1938.[11] In the 1930s, a combined rail and theatre ticket was issued which allowed passengers from certain stations in the Western valleys of Monmouthshire to travel to Abertillery which at the time had four cinemas.[12]
Passenger services were withdrawn from the station on 30 April 1962 and cessation of goods services followed on 7 April 1969.[13][7][8] The line through the station was singled on 3 May 1971.[14] The route was progressively shortened as collieries were closed, with the last section being taken out of use in 1989 after the closure of Six Bells Colliery.[4][15] The first station had remained open for goods traffic until 1 April 1963 during which period it was designated as "Abertillery Old Yard".[16]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournville (Mon) Halt Line and station closed |
Great Western Railway Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company |
Six Bells Halt Line and station closed |
Present and future edit
The trackbed is clear up to south of the former station site.[citation needed] However the A467 road has been built on the formation from there northward.[17]
The platform of the old station, albeit entirely cleared of station buildings, remained partly in place into the 1980s until the A467 development began, but a wire fence stood between it and the singled line. Station House, the one-time home of the stationmaster and the one remaining building associated with Abertillery Station, remains as a private dwelling on the town's Oak Street.
Proposed reopening edit
Abertillery was initially identified as a potential future phase development of the Ebbw Valley Railway.[18] The preferred location of the station would be the British Gas site to the south of the former Co-op store.[18] The extension of the railway line to Abertillery would involve relaying 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) of single-track from Aberbeeg Junction.[18][19][20] In April 2009, a bus link to the nearest station at Llanhilleth was withdrawn after Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council said that it could not continue funding the £200,000 a year service following the ending of Welsh Assembly funding.[21]
In October 2010, it was reported that Sewta had approved recommendations by Capita Symonds for new stations at Abertillery and Crumlin as part of a £14.2 million scheme which would see an hourly service between Abertillery and Cardiff.[22] Negotiations were said to be ongoing with Tesco, the owners of the Co-op site, for the sale of the land.[22] The site would have parking for up to 80 cars, creating a park and ride facility.[22] The estimated cost of extending the line to Abertillery is estimated at £16.7m according to Sewta; part of the trackbed, which is owned by Blaenau Gwent Council, is used as a cycleway but there is thought to be sufficient space for a single track.[23]
However, after the scheme was omitted from the Welsh Government's National Transport Plan for funding priorities until 2015, Welsh Transport Minister Carl Sargeant AM confirmed that the new station is not a priority until after 2015.[24]
This line has been identified by Campaign for a Better Transport as a priority 1 candidate for reopening.[25]
References edit
Notes edit
- ^ Conolly (2004), p. 43, section B2.
- ^ Page (1988), p. 141.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), historical background.
- ^ a b c d Page (1988), p. 142.
- ^ Awdry (1990), p. 36.
- ^ Awdry (1990), p. 13.
- ^ a b Butt (1995), p. 12.
- ^ a b Quick (2009), p. 54.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), plate 71.
- ^ Cobb (2006), p. 140.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), plate 70.
- ^ Page (1989), p. 79.
- ^ Clinker (1988), p. 2.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith (2006), plate 73.
- ^ Hall (2009), p. 52.
- ^ Clinker (1988), pp. 2 and 154, note 64.
- ^ Sabre. "B4249". Retrieved 16 June 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council (2008). "Ebbw Valley Railway: Abertillery Station". Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council (2008). "Ebbw Valley Railway: The Story so Far - Future Phases". Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "SEWTA Rail Strategy 2013: Final Report" (PDF). SEWTA. March 2013. para. C5.6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ "Abertillery could get rail link". South Wales Argus. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ a b c "Valleys railway station plans backed". South Wales Argus. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Deans, David (30 September 2012). "Abertillery rail link could cost £16.7m, says South East Wales Transport Alliance". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Deans, David (25 September 2012). "Assembly drops Abertillery rail station plan". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "The case for expanding the rail network" (PDF). bettertransport.org.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
Sources edit
- Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Clinker, C. R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
- Cobb, M.H. (2006) [2003]. The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas. Vol. 1. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7110-3236-1.
- Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.
- Hall, Mike (2009). Lost Railways of South Wales. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-172-2.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (August 2006). Abertillery and Ebbw Vale Lines. Welsh Valleys. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-9044-7484-5.
- Page, James (1988) [1979]. South Wales. Forgotten Railways. Vol. 8. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-44-5.
- Page, James (1989). Rails in the Valleys. London: Guild Publishing. ISBN 978-0-71538-979-9.
- Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.