...and a short ‘filler’
Three valleys
7 May 2025
Transport for Wales are having a ‘half
price ticket sale’ - let’s have a trip to
Cardiff to explore some of the ‘Valley
Lines’ and their new trains, running mostly
‘under the wires’. At Cardiff we’ll buy
‘Explore Cardiff & Valleys’ day ranger
tickets (£10.65 with railcards - excellent
value!). In the course of the day, we’ll visit Aberdare
(then back to Abercynon), Merthyr Tydfil (turning back at
Pontypridd) and Treherbert - and with a little time to kill
when we finally get back to Queen Street, a ‘filler’ will
take us to Coryton, terminus of the short Cardiff
suburban line, a last remnant of a failed Cardiff Railway
venture. Times have changed - it’s now being electrified!
There wasn’t time for a trip to Rhymney, and certainly not
to Ebbw Vale; nor did we venture down to the coast -
Cardiff Bay, Penarth and Barry were not on the agenda.
The three valleys were quite enough for one day, with a
lot of change to digest. I had a ride to Aberdare nine
years ago - it has a new station, opened since our visit,
on Sunday 18 May. Unusually, it’s to the south-east of
the existing station, for ‘arrivals only’. Trains will then run
on to the old station - which remains in use for
departures and as a ‘turn-back’ point. It was the solution
to a lack of space for a second platform at the old station,
apparently.
Merthyr has changed out of all recognition since my last
visit in 1986! I couldn’t make any comparisons at
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Treherbert, however - never been there
before (or Coryton). A substantial new
depot is being built there for the new
trains, and the platform appears to be
brand new too. The only reminder of the
past is a splendid display of old photos
and maps in the station waiting room.
I mentioned new trains: all our trips up and down the
valleys were in the new Stadler ‘Flirt’ trains. There are
two types in use: class 231 is diesel-powered, while class
756 is a tri-mode - primarily overhead electric (25kV),
plus battery and (if all else fails!) a single 640bhp diesel
engine. The wiring is not (yet) continuous. The 756s glide
into Pontypridd and Merthyr - and the suburban
platforms at Central - on battery power. The 231s are all
four-car units, the 756s are a mixture of three-car and
four-car units. ‘Three-car’ and ‘four-car’ refers to their
passenger-carrying vehicles - also in the train is a (short)
‘power pack’ containing diesel engines, battery packs
and/or other electrical equipment. I think all our ‘Flirts’
were 756s, though we did see at least one 231, the latter
being primarily for non-electrified routes. Remarkable
technology - and very impressive passenger
accommodation - smooth, quiet (despite the schoolkids
in the Rhondda!) and comfortable. Our last trip was
inevitably an anticlimax - Queen Street to Coryton, and
back to Central, was a class 150. Its days are numbered!
Link: ‘Explore Cardiff and Valleys’ day ranger
