Working in partnership with the Wales Assembly Government, Sewta, Arriva Trains Wales ad Network Rail, the council has secured a package of improvements on the Rhymney Railway line to improve the reliability of the train service and allow more frequent and longer trains to meet the demands of increasing passenger numbers.
A £2.8million scheme, delivered between September 2005 and March 2006 improved the track infrastructure between Caerphilly and Bargoed to allow 4 trains each hour to operate between Bargoed and Cardiff / Penarth. Work included additional signals and axle counters and changes to the track layout at Bargoed Station.
In March 2007, works started on a £7.7million scheme to lengthen 24 platforms at stations on the Rhymney Line between Rhymney and Penarth to allow Arriva Trains Wales to operate six carriage trains on the line from 2008. The Assembly has secured additional sprinter trains that will be added to the network to provide the additional capacity.
The final aspiration in the current 5 year regional rail improvement programme led by Sewta (to 2010) is to deliver infrastructure improvements on the line between Bargoed and Rhymney to allow a half hourly service to operate north of Bargoed. These works will give more operational flexibility in the current train timetable and will allow the provision of a new station on the line at Energlyn.