Cwmbran railway station

Cwmbran Welsh: Cwmbrân
General information
Location	Cwmbran, Torfaen Wales
Coordinates	51°39′26″N 3°00′58″W / 51.6572°N 3.0160°W / 51.6572; -3.0160
Grid reference	ST298958
Managed by	Transport for Wales
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	CWM
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	12 May 1986
Passengers
2018/19	0.400 million
2019/20	0.413 million
2020/21	0.107 million
2021/22	0.263 million
2022/23	0.353 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Cwmbran railway station (Welsh: Gorsaf Rheilffordd Cwmbrân) is in the northeast of Cwmbran town centre, within five minutes' walking distance. It is part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is managed by Transport for Wales, who operate all trains serving it. It lies on the Welsh Marches Line from Newport to Hereford. The station was opened at this site in 1986 to serve the commuter route to Newport and Cardiff, and shoppers to the town centre.

Historically, a number of railway stations served Cwmbran. The first station was opened by the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company in July 1852. This closed on 11 March 1880 and a new station was opened on the same day by the Great Western Railway.^[1][2] The station was located on a spur which linked the Monmouthshire Railway with the Pontypool, Caerleon and Newport Railway.^[3] This closed to passengers on 30 April 1962^[1][2] and to goods on 17 May 1965.^[4] The first station, which had remained open for goods traffic, also closed on 17 May 1965.^[4]

The Monmouthshire Railway line to Blaenavon ran to the west of the town.^[3] The section between Pontypool and Blaenavon closed to passengers 30 April 1962, the mineral branches followed on 7 April 1969 and the branch to Talywain on 3 May 1980.^[5] The section from Pontypool as far as Oakfield Siding near Cwmbran saw coal traffic until 1980.^[6]

The present station was opened by British Rail on 12 May 1986.^[1][2] It is situated around 300 yards (270 m) to the south of Lower Pontnewydd railway station which closed to passengers on 9 June 1958 and to goods on 25 January 1965.^[7][8][9]

Refurbished facilities at the station were officially opened by Rhodri Morgan AM on Friday 14 March 2008. This included a larger car park, a new ticket hall, modern sheltered seating areas and new live departure boards like those seen at Newport. The booking office is open six days per week; there is also a self-service ticket machine on offer for use or to collect advance purchase tickets. Automatic announcements and timetable poster boards offer train running information in addition to the CIS displays mentioned. Level access is on offer to each side, though for the southbound platform, this requires a long detour via public roads (the footbridge linking the platforms has steps).^[10]

Construction work is currently underway to install an accessible footbridge with lifts by the end of Summer 2024 as part of and with funding from the Department for Transport's "Access for All" programme.^[11]

In addition to this, Torfaen County Borough Council have funded a limited Number 4 bus that serves the town centre and suburbs of Cwmbran, which is currently operated by Stagecoach in South Wales.

Services that stop at Cwmbran in both directions are all operated by Transport for Wales and include the hourly service between Manchester Piccadilly, Cardiff Central and West Wales and the two hourly service between Holyhead and Cardiff Central.^[12] Most Sunday services only run on the former route (there are only two services each way to/from Holyhead).

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Abergavenny		Transport for Wales Welsh Marches Line		Newport
Pontypool and New Inn

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
• Cobb, M.H. (2006) [2003]. The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas. Vol. 1. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7110-3236-1.
• 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.
• Conolly, W. Philip (2004) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cwmbran railway station.

• Train times and station information for Cwmbran railway station from National Rail
• Pictures of Cwmbran Station from Railway Photography by 37430