Although initially named 'Newport Road', the station was by the end of 1854 called 'Pontypool Road' (the addition of "Road" within the station name is common in railway parlance when the station is situated away from the centre of the town served). The first stationmaster was Henry Griffiths after whom the nearby community of Griffithstown is named. The growth of the railways in the area saw the development of Sebastopol and Griffithstown to house workers. Pontypool Road was also the birthplace of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) in 1880. Further railways openings linked Pontypool Road to the Midlands and north of England.