Ystrad Rhondda railway station

Ystrad Rhondda railway station is a railway station serving Ystrad in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is located on the Rhondda Line. Alphabetically, it is the last station in the UK with the first being Abbey Wood station in southeast London.

History
It was first opened on this site by British Rail on the former Taff Vale Railway in 1986 and is the location of the only passing loop on the section of route north of Porth, which had previously been singled by British Rail in stages between 1972 and 1981. The loop points though work automatically, with the token machines for the two single line sections operated by the train crew under the remote supervision of the signalling centre at Radyr.

Services
Monday-Saturday, there is a half-hourly service to Pontypridd & Cardiff Central southbound and to Treherbert northbound. There is a two hourly service in each direction on Sundays, with through trains southbound to Barry Island. On 20 July 2018, previous franchise operator Arriva Trains Wales announced a trial period of extra Sunday services on the Rhondda Line to Cardiff and Barry Island. This was in response to a survey by Leanne Wood and the success of extra Sunday services on the Merthyr Line and the Rhymney Line.

The service from this station is currently (summer 2023) suspended, due to major route upgrade work being carried out at multiple locations as part of the Valley Lines electrification scheme. A replacement bus service is in operation from here to Pontypridd and to Treherbert every 30 minutes, calling at all local stations until February 2024