...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 Treherbert, however - never been
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
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
