The line from Brynmawr to Blaenavon was originally built under an Act of 1866 by the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway [REF] and immediately leased to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) to transport coal to the Midlands via the Heads of the Valleys line.
Although the track along the whole route to Brynmawr was finally lifted in July 1961, the section from Blaenavon to Pontypool was still in use for coal trains from other local mines until Big Pit finally closed in 1980.