Tondu railway station

The station was opened by the Llynvi Valley Railway on 25 February 1864.[1] Originally developed as part of the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway, it was a junction of six railway lines:

• The Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway from Porthcawl to Maesteg and Abergwynfi
• The Maesteg Line to Bridgend, connecting to the South Wales Main Line
• The Ogmore Valley Railway to Brynmenyn & Nantymoel
• The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company to Port Talbot docks and Pontyrhyl
• The Garw Valley Railway to Blaengarw and 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 the Tondu 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 various Great Western Railway allocated tank engines.[2]

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. After British Railways closed 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.[1] British Rail and Mid Glamorgan County Council reopened the line.

Arriva Trains Wales 150252 passes the Tondu Junction signal box with a service to Cardiff Central.

The current passing loop is still controlled by the former Tondu junction signal box, which manually controls the line using semaphore 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 to Margam. 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.[3] 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.

A basic hourly service is in operation, northbound to Maesteg and southbound to Bridgend and Cardiff Central. Most southbound trains continue onwards from Cardiff to Newport, Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa. There is no Sunday service.[4]

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tondu railway station.

• Train times and station information for Tondu railway station from National Rail

Llynvi and Ogmore Railway
originally Duffryn, Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway
to Glyncorrwg South Wales Mineral Railway to Tonmawr Cymmer Viaduct Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway to Port Talbot │ to Treherbert West Junction Cymmer Afan Abergwynfi Abergwynfi Colliery Cymmer Tunnel 1591 yd 1455 m Caerau Colliery Caerau Nantyffyllon Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company to Pontyrhyl Maesteg (Neath Road) PTR&DCo to Port Talbot Maesteg Castle Street Maesteg Maesteg (Ewenny Road) Garth Troedyrhiew Garth Llangynwyd Ogmore Valley Railway to Brynmenyn Tondu South Wales Main Line to Bridgend Cefn Junction PTR&DCo Kenfig Hill South Wales Main Line to Bridgend Pyle Junction Pyle South Wales Main Line to Swansea Cornelly Quarry Nottage Halt Nottage Tunnel 63 yd 58 m Porthcawl