The new Porth station looks great. At last, the railways of the South Wales valleys are being made suitable for the 21st century. Let's hope the public make full use of what will be an excellent railway service with up to four trains and hour.
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
8 ай бұрын
Let's hope it's busy, now so fewer people work in offices in Cardiff since the pandemic?
@letrainavapeur
8 ай бұрын
I heard that the trains restart a fortnight tomorrow but then I may be wrong thanks for venturing out to report Mike.
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
8 ай бұрын
Hope you' right.
@mesnilman2327
8 ай бұрын
8:35. I remember that footbridge *very* clearly from my childhood...
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
8 ай бұрын
That one hasn't been replaced. I think it's high enough.
@tsl56
8 ай бұрын
Mike, I have been watching your vids for some years now; including some very dated growler era footage. You always have interesting content and I have no hesitation in crowning you Mr Rails in Wales. I am also glad to see that you are now entering the new South Wales Metro era with a massive amount of enthusiasm. Cymru am byth, from a person who used to live in Wales, and even speak some Cymraeg, but has now lived in Thailand for decades. Hiraeth! I lived in Bargoed in the late 60s and saw the demise of colliery steam locos there. I also got to meet some of the last steam footplatemen who crouched down to get through the hellish Pencader Tunnel. But to be honest, my obsession is less with locos and more about the mapping and reutilisation of old lines. So I am glad to see services resuming between Ebbw Vale and Newport, and hoping it won't be too long before Abertillery also gets the same treatment. I also saw some footage yesterday that suggested that the Machen Quarry line is back in freight action. But wondering also what will happen to the Cwm Bargoed line with the demise of open cast mining. It might eventually get used as Metro to Nelson and/or Trelewis, but what about the really scenic bits thru Bedlinog to Dowlais Top?
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
8 ай бұрын
The last train from Cwmbargoed runs next week. CBG officially closed at the end of November last year, due to local opposition ( dust and noise etc) Look for more of my clips under Cwmbargoed...............Mike, in the Vale of Glamorgan.
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
8 ай бұрын
kzitem.info/news/bejne/s6yo0GqNqGiLjGUsi=Jn1KSPuyIJ8SZS8P Look at this one.................Mike
@stephendavies6949
8 ай бұрын
As a fellow exile (but I only got as far East as 8 miles from Lowestoft!) I echo your sentiments and thoughts. I fear the line to Cwmbargoed is doomed. They'd have to build up to 6 stations at around £1.5m each, plus upgrade the track, and with the soon to be opened swish new-look Merthyr & Rhymney Valley services not that far away geographically, I just can't see a metro line from Ystrad Mynach to Dowlais generating enough traffic. It's a crying shame, as being a Merthyr lad, it would be great to see regular passenger trains at places like Nelson, Trelewis and Bedlinog for the first time in living memory. I think the best we can hope for is a plethora of "specials" to Cwmbargoed before the line is closed completely.
@tsl56
8 ай бұрын
@@stephendavies6949 I got as far as Southern Thailand, but this place is a railway junction, and there is a lot of investment in railways here right now. I hear that South Wales Metro are thinking about reconnecting the Newport to Caerphilly line via Machen. Trains on that route might then run on through Nelson to Trelewis. There was talk about Cardiff building an incinerator, recycling facility and landfill at Ffos-y-Fran, and using that line to bring in garbage etc. But it wasn't a popular idea with locals; many of them former miners who having long lost their mining jobs, no longer want to see fossil fuel extraction or incineration on their local mountainside. I think a service to the Trelewis/ Treharris area is possible, but the line beyond that would likely only be used for some sort of freight function, and right now the UK is being deliberately depleted of industry
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
7 ай бұрын
I believe there's a special this summer, but only so far up the line to the freight stopping point, about a mile from the top
@bigcasey4143
8 ай бұрын
I drove trains up & down this valley (and the other Valley Lines) for 30 years until I retired, including both of the accursed class 150 units shown.... It remains to be seen if the improvements & electrification will actually lead to a more reliable train service.... I wonder why it wasn't all doubletracked, excepting of course the Tonypandy station area... The resignalling is a good idea though.... ending the ancient time-consuming exchanging of the electric tokens & train crews having to undure the interior of the token huts that always smelled like a urinal... That isn't to say that the Electric tokens weren't 100% safe.... they were just outdated.
@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways
8 ай бұрын
Thanks for your interest. I live in the Vale so this area is is close by, so more to come when the line opens soon. Mike W.
@stephendavies6949
8 ай бұрын
Well, if this massive investment in infrastructure doesn't re-ignite the Valleys economy - or at the very least allow local people easier access to jobs in Cardiff - nothing will. These sorts of buildings wouldn't look out of place in the suburbs of the South East of Engalnd.
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