Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway
In time the Canal became overwhelmed by the volume of traffic, and encouraged by the successful opening of railways with more advanced technology than the horse tramways of previous years, the Taff Vale Railway was promoted. It was authorised by Parliament in 1836 and it opened between Merthyr and Cardiff docks in 1841. The line passed close to the Maesmawr workings but did not make a connection.
Taff Vale Railway
In 1865 the Ogmore Valley Railway was opened. It was a standard gauge line, and there appeared to be enormous potential to bring standard gauge mineral trains to Penarth. The Taff Vale obtained authority to build a north-west to south-east diagonal line across the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway system to handle this traffic. Financial difficulties delayed construction, and in the meantime the South Wales main line of the GWR was converted to standard gauge.