Barry, Vale of Glamorgan dock basin was opened in 1889 to be followed by two other docks and extensive port installations. The Barry Railway brought coal down from the South Wales Valleys to the new docks whose trade grew from one million tons in the first year, to over nine million tons by 1903. The port was crowded with ships and had flourishing ship repair yards, cold stores, flour mills and an ice factory. By 1913, Barry was the largest coal exporting port in the world. Behind the docks rose the terraced houses of Barry which, with Cadoxton, soon formed a sizeable town. The
Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company depots on the later route. In 1907 the original route, designated the "Cardiff Road lines", was closed. It had run from Courtybella Junction, forking to Llanarth Street Junction and Dock Street station. During World War I Newport became the third largest coal exporting port in the United Kingdom. Additional sidings were laid at Pontypool for the Admiralty coal traffic, making the marshalling yards the largest in Wales and the West of England. From the end of the war, motor bus services, primitive at first, were operated in competition with the railways. At the same time the local transport of goods