The Ebbw Valley Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Cwm Ebwy) is a branch line of the Great Western Main Line in South Wales. Arriva Trains Wales provide an hourly passenger service each way, between Ebbw Vale Parkway and Cardiff Central.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) operated a passenger service on the line from the 1850s between Newport and Ebbw Vale. The line became part of British Railways' Western Region in 1948, following the nationalisation of the railways. Passenger services ceased on the line in 1962 – part of the Beeching Axe. However, the route continued to be used to carry freight to and from the Corus steelworks in Ebbw Vale, until its closure in 2002. Proposals to re-open the existing freight railway line to passenger services were first mooted in 1998. The Welsh Assembly Government announced their commitment to the project in 2002, as part of a package of measures to help the steel communities.
Passenger services were restored to the line in February 2008, after a gap of 46 years, using Class 150 diesel multiple units. Predominantly single track north of Newport, the Ebbw Valley Railway runs 18 miles (29 km) along the Ebbw River valley from Ebbw Vale, before joining the South Wales Main Line at a triangular set of junctions in Newport – the line splitting at Park Junction with the eastbound section joining at Gaer Junction and the westbound section joining at Ebbw Junction. The line's stations and services are managed by Arriva Trains Wales. Findings of a Network Rail feasibility study into an additional service between Ebbw Vale Parkway and Newport are expected after March 2011.
Read more about Ebbw Valley Railway: Current Service, History, Revival, Route, Proposed Additional Services
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