Electrification of the Treherbert railway line
We’ll shortly be electrifying the Treherbert railway line, from Pontypridd to Treherbert station.
The overhead power lines that carry 25,000 volts will be ‘live’, making it extremely dangerous for any persons to come close to the overhead wires or any associated part of the structures. This includes the supporting masts, switch feeds and cables. The overhead power lines are always on, and you don’t need to touch them to be harmed or killed as the electricity can jump over 3 meters.
Whilst there is no danger to people using the railway correctly, anyone who does not respect the railway boundary, the fence line that protects both people and the operational railway from deliberate or accidental trespass, are placing themselves at risk.
You can read more about Overhead Line Equipment here.
More information on our No Second Chances OLE safety campaign can be found here.
Testing the Overhead Line Equipment (OLE)
As part of the energisation process, we will need to conduct two days of testing in May to ensure that the equipment across the Treherbert line is working properly.
The testing period will take place on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May, with contingency plans in place for Sunday 26 May and Tuesday 28 May if required.
For the safety of the public during the testing period, we will need to close all public footbridges that cross the railway line, as well as station footbridges and the level crossing at Treherbert station on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May.
The following footbridges will be closed to pedestrians on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. We will ensure pedestrians can still cross the railway line safely by either providing a suitable diversion route or a minibus shuttle service where needed.
- Rheola Road bridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Pontrhondda Avenue footbridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Mill Street footbridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Brook Street footbridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Trelaw Road footbridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Gelli footbridge (currently closed)
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This bridge is currently closed to pedestrians and will remain closed throughout the testing period.
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- Tyla-coch footbridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Pentwyn footbridge
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This bridge will be fully closed to pedestrians, with a minibus shuttle in place to transport pedestrians from either side safely. The shuttle bus will run 06:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May. More details of the pickup and drop off locations will be released shortly.
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- Rhondda College footbridge
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This bridge will be closed to pedestrians during the testing period.
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To ensure that pedestrians can still cross other road bridges over the railway safely during this period we will have traffic management in place. This will help the public maintain a safe distance from the sides of the bridges. Please note the Rheola Road/A4233 overbridge will be closed for pedestrians during the testing period.
We will keep our social media channels up to date during the testing period and will communicate if any bridges are reopened earlier than expected or if any need to be closed for a longer period. You can follow us on Twitter at @tfwrail to stay up to date.
Extension of the Rhondda Railcard 50% discount
As a thank you to our customers and lineside neighbours for their patience throughout the transformation work, we will be extending the Rhondda Railcard discount scheme for 3 months following the reopening of the line in February 2024. The discount entitles all passengers who travel on the Treherbert line to a 50% discount on the cost of their ticket, with the discount available until the end of May 2024.
To obtain the discount, passengers will need to present the physical Rhondda Railcard to the train conductor alongside their rail ticket.
Ynyswen Station
Due to the extensive work that needs to be done to upgrade Ynyswen Station, the station will remain closed to allow our teams to continue to undertake significant work to the station.
Whilst the line has been closed, we’ve installed a track loop at this station. This allows trains to pass each other on the line and allows us to deliver more frequent services. We’ll soon start work on building a new station platform, which accommodates the new loop, as well as a new accessible bridge, with stairs and lifts to connect each platform. Due to the extensive drainage works required to prevent flooding at the station, and delays in obtaining the required land agreements to undertake this work, we will need to continue work at the site throughout 2024, with a reopening date for the station planned for late 2024.
We advise customers to use Treherbert or Treorchy station until we can reopen the station for passengers and we will be running a shuttle bus Northbound to Treherbert and Southbound to Treorchy which will integrate with the train timetable.
Bus replacement information
We will continue to carry out essential electrification works on the line and as a result trains will be replaced during the evenings from Sundays to Thursdays, so we’re asking our passengers to check before travelling.
Our journey checker tool will be updated with the replacement bus information.
- Rail replacement bus stops
- Rail replacement bus stop maps
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Treherbert
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Ynyswen
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Treorchy
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Ton Pentre
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Ystrad Rhondda
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Llwynypia
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Tonypandy
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Dinas Rhondda
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Porth
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Trehaford
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Would you like more information?
The Welsh Government and TfW are committed to an ambitious programme of Metro improvements known as the Core Valleys Lines (CVL) Transformation. This transformation project has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Did you know?
Did you know the Treherbert line is currently operated by a Token Exchange Signalling System?
Token exchange in a railway is a physical object which a train driver is required to have or see, entering it into the token unit before travelling onto a particular section of single track. The token is endorsed with the names of the section it belongs to, i.e. Treherbert, Tonypandy.
This is the machine that operates the Treherbert line:
