Ebbw Vale Town railway station

Ebbw Vale Town railway station serves the town centre of Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, serving as the terminus of the Ebbw Valley Railway.

Ebbw Vale Town

Welsh: Tref Glyn Ebwy
LocationEbbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent
Wales
Coordinates51.776°N 3.202°W / 51.776; -3.202
Grid referenceSO168099
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byTransport for Wales
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeEBB
Key dates
17 May 2015 (2015-05-17)Opened
Passengers
2015/16 0.168 million
2016/17 0.232 million
2017/18 0.245 million
2018/19 0.244 million
2019/20 0.227 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History
Main article: Ebbw Valley Railway

The origins of the Ebbw Valley Railway can be traced to the wooden tramways and waggonways which served the various coal mines and steel works in the upper Ebbw Valley, to enable them to receive raw materials and dispatch products. Developments area Ebbw Vale itself were most associated with the Beaufort Ironworks Tramway, which opened in 1798 between the ironworks as far as Crumlin.[1] On 23 December 1850, the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company introduced a regular passenger service between Newport Courtybella and Blaina.[2] Services were extended to Ebbw Vale on 19 April 1852 after improvement works had been carried out to the 9.5 miles (15.3 km) section between Aberbeeg and Ebbw Vale.[2][3][4] Originally developed as a single-platform station, by 1923 at the time of railway grouping Ebbw Vale (Low Level) railway station boasted a staff of 44.[5]

Ebbw Vale (High Level) railway station was opened by the London and North Western Railway on 2 September 1867.[3][4] To distinguish the two Ebbw Vale stations, British Railways added the suffix "High Level" (the L&NWR station) on 23 May 1949 and "Low Level" (the GWR station) on 19 July 1950.[3][4] Both stations closed to passengers on 30 April 1962.[3][4][6] Closure of the lines to goods traffic came on 1 December 1969.[7][8]

Development

In the 2008 Network Rail Route Utilisation Strategy, the link between Ebbw Vale and Newport was identified for implementation in the period 2009–2018. In May 2013, the Welsh Government announced that the Ebbw Vale line would be extended from the existing terminus at Ebbw Vale Parkway to the new station at Ebbw Vale Town. A total of £11.5 million was agreed to fund the station, line extension and associated landscaping for the surrounding area. Two weeks later, funding was also agreed for Pye Corner railway station, also along the line.[9][10]

Opening
First train at Ebbw Vale Town

The Ebbw Vale Town Station extension opened 17 May 2015.[11] There is an hourly service, Monday – Saturday, to Cardiff Central, and an approximately two-hourly service on Sundays.[12]

Stage two

Under the proposals of stage two of the project, a half-hourly service would be introduced, and a two-platform station would be built as the northern terminus of the line, close to the old British Steel General Office Site part of "the Works" development. This can only be enabled through additional passing loops and track infrastructure being provisioned by 2018 in the Newport and Crosskeys to Llanhilleth area.[13] Funding for the project will mainly come from the Welsh Assembly Government, and many other stakeholders.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Terminus   Transport for Wales
Ebbw Valley Railway
   Ebbw Vale Parkway

Bus station

The station is an eight minute walk from the Ebbw Vale bus station (also known as Inner Bypass), which is the terminus for a number of Stagecoach South Wales services to Cardiff, Abergavenny, Brynmawr, Tredegar, and other nearby villages.

Notes
  1. Page (1988), p. 167.
  2. Byles (1982), p. 32.
  3. Quick (2009), p. 161.
  4. Butt (1995), p. 88.
  5. Mitchell & Smith (2006), fig. 115.
  6. Hurst (1992), p. 19, note 0936.
  7. Clinker (1988), p. 43.
  8. Hurst (1992), p. 61, note 2706.
  9. "£11.5m for train station in Ebbw Vale town centre". South Wales Argus. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  10. "SEWTA Welcomes £15M Ebbw Valley Line Investment". SEWTA. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  11. BBC News – First train to arrive at new station in Ebbw Vale. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015
  12. http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=12884902121
  13. Thomas, Carys (24 August 2014). "Blaenau Gwent rail improvements by 2016". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 5 October 2014.

References
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Byles, Aubrey (1982). The History of the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company. Cwmbran: Village Publishing. ISBN 0-946043-00-0.
  • Clinker, C.R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
  • Hurst, Geoffrey (1992). Register of Closed Railways: 1948-1991. Worksop, Nottinghamshire: Milepost Publications. ISBN 0-9477-9618-5.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
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