The Cwm Bargoed railway line closed in 1964 but has re-opened for freight services to and from the Ffos Y Fran site. This has prompted calls by Mr Cuthbert and neighbouring AM Huw Lewis for services between Bedlinog and Ystrad Mynach to resume. Welsh Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has indicated there are no current plans.

See also:

The Taff Bargoed Joint Railway was built by the Rhymney and Great Western Railways primarily to serve the ironworks at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil. It began at a junction with the Pontypool Road-Neath line at Nelson and Llancaiach. It climbed steeply up the valley of the River Bargoed Taff to a windswept summit at Cwmbargoed, then descended into Dowlais. On the approach to Dowlais, the line divided at Zigzag Lines Junction; the right-hand line ran to the passenger terminus at Cae Harris and the left-hand line reached a location called Furnace Tops, which served the ironworks.

The main Dowlais works closed in 1930, but one part of the complex, known as the Ivor Works, remained open. It was part of the Guest, Keen & Nettlefold group, but was latterly taken over by British Steel. Passenger trains on the branch were withdrawn in 1964, but the line remained busy with opencast coal from Cwmbargoed and traffic for the Ivor Works, which manufactured ingot moulds for use in other steel plants. The right-hand branch at Zigzag lines Junction was removed, leaving only the line to Furnace Tops, but the lines at Cae Harris station remained accessible via Furnace Tops.

The Ivor Works finally closed in 1987, rendered redundant by advances in iron industry technology. I have seen a closure date of 1984 for the Cwmbargoed-Dowlais railway, but I'm not sure if this is accurate. The line as far as Cwmbargoed has seen periods of disuse but is still in place and may see a further lease of life thanks to renewed opencast workings.

I have not revisited the Cae Harris since 1974 but an inspection of aerial photographs on Google http://maps.google.co.uk/ seems to show that most of the evidence of the steelworks has been obliterated, the tips have been smoothed over, a dual carriageway passes through the site and Cae Harris station site is now occupied by houses.