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.
Vale of Neath Railway
Long before that, in 1847, the NA&HR had obtained Parliamentary powers for the Taff Vale Extension Railway, which was to run westward from Pontypool to Quakers Yard, where it would join the Taff Vale Railway. This line had the potential to connect with numerous of the south-to-north lines in the valleys, thereby conveying mineral products from collieries and ironworks on their network to the industrial north of England. The Taff Vale Extension Railway opened progressively from 1855, and many of the junctions with valley lines were only effected in later years.