Ebbw Vale Line
| Ebbw Valley Railway Rheilffordd Cwm Ebwy |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | Ebbw Valley, South Wales |
| Termini |
51°46′55″N 3°12′22″W / 51.782°N 3.206°W 51°34′12″N 3°00′27″W / 51.5701°N 3.0075°W |
| Stations | 8 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 21 December 1850 |
| Closed | 30 April 1962 |
| Reopened | 6 February 2008 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Arriva Trains Wales |
| Rolling stock | Class 150 DMUs |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 19 miles (31 km) |
| Number of tracks | Single track (small section of Double track) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Highest elevation | 820 feet (250 m) above mean sea level |
The Ebbw Valley Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Cwm Ebwy) is a branch line of the Great Western Main Line in South Wales. Arriva Trains Wales provides an hourly passenger service each way, between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff Central.
The line was opened by the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company and the Great Western Railway (GWR) operated a passenger service 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 Passenger services were withdrawn in 1962. 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 former 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 19 miles (31 km) along the Ebbw River valley from Ebbw Vale, before joining the South Wales Main Line at a triangular group 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.
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Wikipedia