Tondu railway station

Tondu
Looking north along the platform towardsMaesteg.
General information
Location	Tondu,Bridgend Wales
Coordinates	51.5474°N 3.5952°W/51.5474; -3.5952
Grid reference	SS894843
Managed by	Transport for Wales Rail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	TDU
Classification	DfT categoryF1
History
Original company	Llynvi Valley Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
25 February 1864	Opened
22 June 1970	Closed
28 September 1992	Reopened
Passengers
2018/19	48,478
2019/20	51,052
2020/21	7,572
2021/22	28,370
2022/23	39,936
Notes Passenger statistics from theOffice of Rail and Road

Tondu railway stationis arailway stationserving the village ofTondu,Bridgend county borough,South Wales.It is located on theMaesteg LinefromCardiffviaBridgend.

Passenger services are operated byTransport for Wales Railas part of theValley Linesnetwork for local services.

History

The station was opened by theLlynvi Valley Railwayon 25 February 1864. Originally developed as part of theDuffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway,it was a junction of six railway lines:

• The Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway from Porthcawl to Maesteg andAbergwynfi
• TheMaesteg LinetoBridgend,connecting to theSouth Wales Main Line
• TheOgmore Valley RailwaytoBrynmenyn&Nantymoel
• ThePort Talbot Railway and Docks CompanytoPort Talbot docksand Pontyrhyl
• TheGarw Valley RailwaytoBlaengarwand onwards to the Blaengarw and International collieries

Coal train from the Ogmore Valleys passing Tondu in 1962

It hence had an extensive set of railway workshops, and was also the junction access point for theTondu Ironworks.Enough traffic flowed through the junction to warrant a sizable locomotive shed. The original Ogmore Valley Railway shed was demolished in 1889 to make way for a roundhouse shed, which later became home to variousGreat Western Railwayallocated tank engines.

The ironworks shut from 1895 onwards, but the previous developments meant that it remained an important junction with the installation of a wagon works for the collieries in the area. AfterBritish Railwaysclosed most of the branch lines to passengers in the 1950s and early 1960s and the demise of the Blaengarw and International collieries in the late 1980s, the station and lines were greatly rationalised. The locomotive shed closed in the late-sixties. Tondu station was closed on 22 June 1970 (with the end of passenger trains over the old L&O route to Cymmer Afan) and was reopened on 28 September 1992.British RailandMid Glamorgan County Councilreopened the line.

Arriva Trains Wales150252passes the Tondu Junction signal box with a service toCardiff Central.

The current passing loop is still controlled by the former Tondu junction signal box, which manually controls the line usingsemaphore signals.As well as the former Maesteg Line, the former Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company line exists as a freight-only by-pass line toMargam.Passenger trains would sometimes be diverted through this branch-line whenever the main-line between Bridgend and Port Talbot was closed for engineering work. Trains were diverted to travel via and reverse at Tondu.Nowadays, when the main-line is closed, bus services will replace train services as the old branch has speed restrictions of 5-15 mph in force.

Services

A basic hourly service is in operation, northbound to Maesteg and southbound toBridgendandCardiff Central.Most southbound trains continue onwards from Cardiff toNewport,GloucesterandCheltenham Spa.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Sarn		Transport for Wales Maesteg Line		Garth
	Historical railways
Kenfig Hill Line open, station closed		Great Western Railway Maesteg Line		Llangynwyd Line open, station closed.

External links

• Train timesandstation informationfor Tondu railway station fromNational Rail

Llynvi and Ogmore Railway
originally Duffryn, Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway
toGlyncorrwg South Wales Mineral Railway toTonmawr Cymmer Viaduct Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway toPort Talbot│ toTreherbert West Junction Cymmer Afan Abergwynfi Abergwynfi Colliery Cymmer Tunnel 1591 yd 1455 m Caerau Colliery Caerau Nantyffyllon Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company toPontyrhyl Maesteg (Neath Road) PTR&DCo toPort Talbot Maesteg Castle Street Maesteg Maesteg (Ewenny Road) Garth Troedyrhiew Garth Llangynwyd Ogmore Valley Railway toBrynmenyn Tondu South Wales Main Line toBridgend Cefn JunctionPTR&DCo Kenfig Hill South Wales Main Line toBridgend Pyle Junction Pyle South Wales Main Line toSwansea Cornelly Quarry Nottage Halt Nottage Tunnel 63 yd 58 m Porthcawl