Aber railway station

51°34′30″N 3°13′48″W / 51.5749°N 3.2299°W / 51.5749; -3.2299Grid referenceST148869Managed byTransport for WalesPlatforms2Other informationStation codeABEClassificationDfT category F2Key datesApril 1908Station opens as Beddau Halt17 September 1926Renamed Aber Junction Halt6 May 1968Renamed Aber Halt5 May 1969Renamed AberPassengers2018/19 0.245 million2019/20 0.228 million2020/21 15,7122021/22 73,6422022/23 0.104 million

Location

Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Aber railway station is a railway station serving the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line 8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km) north of Cardiff Central on the Valley Lines network.

The station is located in the Bondfield Park and Trecenydd areas of Caerphilly.

History

Opened in April 1908 by the Rhymney Railway as Beddau Halt, it became part of the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923, and renamed Aber Junction Halt on 17 September 1926. The line then passed] on nationalisation in 1948. It was renamed Aber Halt on 6 May 1968, then Aber on 5 May 1969.

When Sectorisation was introduced, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Railways.

Another station also called Beddau Halt existed on the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway and should not be confused with this station.

The 'Junction' suffix refers to the fact that until the early 1980s, there were two junctions near here – one to the south between the current line via Caerphilly (which opened in 1871) and the original route down the Big Hill via Penrhos Junction to Walnut Tree Junction near Taffs Well on the Taff Vale Railway route from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil and another to the north for the branch line to Senghenydd. The former opened in 1858 and provided the Rhymney company with its original access to Cardiff General and the docks. It was freight-only for most of its life, but was heavily used in post-grouping and BR days by coal trains originating from the various collieries on the Rhymney line heading to the marshalling yard at Radyr. This avoided the need for such trains to use the busy section through Cardiff Queen Street, even though the 3½ mile line was steeply graded (hence the nickname – the 1 in 48 ruling gradient was however favourable for loaded trains). The latter opened in 1894 and was used for both freight (to Windsor Colliery near the terminus) and passenger services.

The Senghenydd branch passenger service ended in June 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe, but it remained in use for colliery traffic until 1977^[1] whilst the Taffs Well route closed in June 1982^[2] – both have since been dismantled.

Services

Spring 2016

During Spring 2016 Aber railway station is served by 4 trains per hour each way, off peak, Monday to Friday:

• 3 per hour from Bargoed to Penarth
• 1 per hour from Rhymney to Penarth
• 3 per hour from Penarth to Bargoed
• 1 per hour from Penarth to Rhymney

Apart from Gilfach Fargoed, the station before Bargoed, which is served just once an hour, there is a train every 15 minutes calling at all stations between Bargoed and Penarth.^[3] In the evenings, the service drops to hourly and on Sundays to two-hourly (with southbound trains running to Barry Island).

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Caerphilly		Transport for Wales Rhymney Line		Energlyn & Churchill Park or Llanbradach
	Historical railways
Caerphilly Station and line open		Great Western Railway Rhymney Line		Pwll-y-Pant Station closed; Line open
	Disused railways
Penyrheol Halt Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Senghenydd Branch		Terminus

References

Further reading

RoadBus operatorsBus stationsRailway operatorsRailway stations

Ebbw line	Risca Crosskeys Newbridge
Rhymney line	Caerphilly Aber Energlyn Llanbradach Ystrad Mynach Hengoed Pengam Bargoed Brithdir Tir-phil Pontlottyn Rhymney

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