The station at this location (the former "Aberdare High Level") 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" (later absorbed by the Taff Vale Railway) - 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".