Coryton Line
| Coryton Line |
| (from south to north)
Cardiff Central |
The Coryton Line is a railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Heath, Birchgrove, Rhiwbina, Whitchurch and Coryton.
The line is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) as part of the Valley Lines network. ATW replaced the previous franchise, Wales & Borders Trains in December 2003.
It is unusual in a modern city of this size: a 2½ mile rail branch within the northern suburbs. Also its stations are at half or even quarter mile intervals, and all in a straight line with trains visible from the next station. This is the densest clustering of stations on Britain's national rail network. Ty Glas even opened in 1987, in the post-Beeching era. Rhiwbina and Whitchurch both opened onto the same half-mile-long side street, Pen y Dre, that parallels the line. Yet the line has proved its worth as a serious commuter service, and twice beaten off closure bids in 1964 and 1972, because it serves a district made prone to serious peak-time road congestion by the way the mountains north of the city cramp its trunk road links to the valleys (particularly the A470).
It is the rump of a longer line opened 1911 by the Cardiff Railway as its own link into the coalfield around Pontypridd, duplicating the existing Taff Vale Railway. Their partnership with the interest groups then developing north Cardiff, including the Rhiwbina Garden Village project, caused them to provide the frequent stations. Passenger service beyond Coryton (towards Tongwynlais) closed 1931. Since 2005 the majority of trains on this line travel in a loop to Radyr and back again via the City Line.
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