Portal:Wales/Selected article/18

The Ebbw Valley Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Cwm Ebwy) is a branch line of the Great Western Main Line in Wales. Arriva Trains Wales provide an hourly passenger service each way, between Ebbw Vale Parkway and Cardiff Central. The Great Western Railway operated a passenger service on the line from the 1850s between Ebbw Vale and Newport. The line became part of British Railways' Western Region in 1948, following the nationalisation of the railways. Passenger services ceased on the line in 1962 under the Beeching Axe, but the route continued to be used to carry freight to and from the Corus steelworks in Ebbw Vale until its closure in 2002.

Proposals to re-open the existing freight railway line to passenger services were first mooted in 1998. The Welsh Assembly Government announced their commitment to the project in 2002, as part of a package of measures to help the steel communities. Passenger services were restored to the line in February 2008, using Class 150 diesel multiple units. Predominantly single track, the Ebbw Valley Railway runs 18 miles (29 km) along the Ebbw River valley from Ebbw Vale, before joining the South Wales Main Line at Ebbw Junction, Newport. The line's stations and services are managed by Arriva Trains Wales.