The station at this location was opened in 1851 and was served by the trains of the Vale of Neath, later Great Western Railway on their route between and Pontypool Road. The line from Abercynon and Cardiff had been built in 1846 by the Aberdare Railway Company - this ran to an adjacent but separate station at, although the two routes were later connected to each other a short distance to the west of the town at Gadlys Junction. Passenger rail services into the town on both lines fell victim to the Beeching Axe in 1964, with the last train running on the former VoN line on 13 June and over the ex-TVR line from Cardiff on 30 October However part of the VoN line west of the town remained open for coal trains serving Tower Colliery at Hirwaun, which was then accessed by the former Taff Vale line. This was also retained to serve various collieries and a coking plant further down the valley at Abercwmboi. From 1968 though, this route was reduced to single track to reduce maintenance costs. Goods traffic through the ex-VoN High Level station ended in 1965 and the line fell into disuse, but in August 1973 it was reopened to release the former TVR line trackbed and station site for road improvements. All services were diverted onto the old VoN line via a new connection between the two lines near Cwmbach and then on through the old High Level station to regain their former route at Gadlys Junction. The new connection was carried over the River Cynon on a girder bridge that had previously been used to carry the defunct to branch line across the A40 road at Wheatley, Oxfordshire. The fact that the line remained open made it possible to reinstate passenger services to the town, which started again under British Rail and Mid Glamorgan in October 1988 using a new platform close to the old disused one. Freight continued to run several times a day from the colliery over track owned by it, until Tower Colliery's final closure on 18 January 2008. EWS still ran trains to the Tower washery on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for some time afterwards to clear coal stocks from the site. These departed Aberdare at 7:00 pm on Wednesdays and 11:30 am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, these trains were hauled by occasional Class 60s but a high proportion of these services were Class 66 hauled. Freightliner also operate stone trains to Tower but this service varies, these trains are usually hauled by a Class 66 diesel locomotive. Announced in November 2009 the Welsh Assembly Government has asked Network Rail to conduct a feasibility study on reopening the line to Hirwaun for passenger services. Network Rail is expected to clear the line of vegetation and assess the track bed before publishing its report in 2010, before any business cases to reopen the line is then developed. It was announced in March 2011 that the Welsh Assembly Government's 2011-12 capital programme would include the re-opening of the line to Hirwaun as part of the Cynon Valley Scheme. However, there is currently no information on when the work will commence.
Facilities
Along with other stations on the Merthyr Line, Aberdare has undergone construction work to lengthen the platform. This now allows four-car trains to stop at the station. The platform also has a staffed ticket office, which is open six days per week from early morning until mid-afternoon. Train running information is offered via CIS displays, a help point and timetable posters. Car parking is provided at the station. The high level station building is being restored to become a bistro cafe for students, staff and the public, as part of the new Coleg y Cymoedd campus.
Services
On Mondays to Saturday daytimes, the service from Aberdare is a half-hourly service to Barry Island, via. In the evenings this drops to hourly and certain late night trains run to rather than Barry Island. Services are formed of Class 142 and Class 143 Pacer units and Class 150Sprinter units. On Sundays there is a general 2-hourly service to Barry Island with an hourly service in the morning and in the late afternoon. This is due to a campaign by the localAssembly Member and a successful trial in December 2017. The extra services began in April 2018. There is a dedicated rail linc bus that links with the train. It is only available to rail passengers and operates to Penywaun, Hirwaun, Cefn Rhigos and Rhigos. The rail link bus no longer operates, but rail linc tickets are valid for use on Stagecoach buses that serve the aforementioned communities; planning is also in place to open a new railway station at Hirwaun.
